The preparation was a potent inhibitor (IC50 0.087 μg mL−1) fatty acid synthase (FAS), active in a dose-dependent manner against intracellular FAS in MDA-MB-231 cells (which overexpress the enzyme); the inhibition of intracellular FAS activity induced apoptosis in the cancer cells (Wang et al. 2014). Here, FAS is linked to cancer.