Bioactive Extracts from Cyclodextrin-Elicited Morus alba Roots Reduce MCF-7 Breast Cancer Cell Viability

Plant in vitro cultures offer controlled systems for producing bioactive phenolics, yet the effects of elicitation on extract bioactivity remain insufficiently characterised. This study evaluated hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD; 0–50 mM) elicitation in Morus alba cv. Filipina adventitious roots, examining biomass, extracellular oxyresveratrol and moracin M accumulation, antioxidant capacity and effects on MCF-7 cell viability. Elicitation reduced final root dry weight by 82–93% relative to non-elicited controls. After 21 days, 25 mM HP-β-CD yielded the highest oxyresveratrol and moracin M concentrations, reaching 61.79 and 31.78 μM, respectively, approximately 73- and 61-fold the control values. This treatment also produced the highest total phenolic content and ABTS antioxidant capacity, with the latter reaching 183.44 μM Trolox equivalents compared with 59.26 μM in the control. Extracts from elicited cultures produced a non-monotonic MTT response. At 8% (v/v), the CD25-derived extract reduced MCF-7 viability to 22.6% of the vehicle control after 48 h, accompanied by reduced cell attachment and altered morphology. These findings support HP-β-CD elicitation as a strategy for obtaining phenolic-rich extracellular extracts with antioxidant activity and measurable effects on MCF-7 cell viability.