Exploring the potential of diosgenin as a promising antitumor agent through comprehensive spectroscopic characterization, solvent–solute interactions, topological properties, Hirshfeld surface, and molecular docking interactions with 2NZT and 2I1V proteins

Abstract

This study characterizes the steroidal saponin diosgenin by theoretical and experimental spectroscopic techniques. Theoretical simulations were performed using the DFT/B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) basis set to simulate spectroscopic, structural and other properties. Optimized geometries from simulations and experiments showed strong agreement, with R² value of 0.99846 for bond lengths and 0.88092 for bond angles. Vibrational spectra revealed distinctive peaks for the methyl, methylene, and methine groups in diosgenin. Solvent–solute interactions on the Frontier Molecular Orbitals (FMO), Molecular Electrostatic Potential (MEP) surfaces, and electronic spectra were analyzed, revealing insights into diosgenin’s behavior in different environments. The FMO energy gap shows that polar solvents like acetone, ethanol, and water have wider band gaps (6.22–6.23 eV) than non-polar solvents like benzene, chloroform, and toluene (6.17–6.20 eV), indicating stronger interactions with polar groups, enhanced stability, and reduced reactivity. NBO analysis shows substantial stabilization energy (14.71 kJ/mol) when electrons from oxygen’s (O₁) lone pair are donated to the anti-bonding orbital of O₂C₁₅ through the transition of LP (2) → σ*. The carbon (C₁₅) situated between oxygen (O₁) and (O₂) exhibits increased electronegativity (−1.65605 e), confirming the electronegativity of the oxygen atoms. Hirshfeld surfaces shows that the crystal structure is mainly influenced by H…H (90.7 %) interaction. Topological analyses revealed molecular interactions and chemical bonding within diosgenin, highlighting its diverse chemical functionalities. Furthermore, molecular docking and ADME predictions underscores diosgenin’s potential biological activity against human hexokinase (−8.09 kcal/mol) and phosphofructokinase (−8.35 kcal/mol), suggesting its efficacy as an antitumor drug.