Sterodial sapogenins from Solanum torvum

Computational analysis of potential drug-like compounds from Solanum torvum - A promising phytotherapeutics approach for the treatment of diabetes

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a global pandemic that is characterized by high blood glucose levels. Conventional treatments have limitations, leading to the search for natural alternatives. This study focused on Solanum torvum (STV), a medicinal plant, to identify potential anti-diabetic compounds using molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations. We focused on identifying natural inhibitors of two key enzymes involved in glucose metabolism: α-amylase (1HNY) and α-glucosidase (4J5T). In our preliminary docking study, rutin showed the highest binding affinity (-11.58 kcal/mol) to α-amylase, followed by chlorogenin (-7.58 kcal/mol) and myricetin (-5.82 kcal/mol). For α-glucosidase, rutin had the highest binding affinity (-11.78 kcal/mol), followed by chlorogenin (-7.11 kcal/mol) and fisetin (-6.44 kcal/mol). Hence, chlorogenin and rutin were selected for further analysis and compared with acarbose, an FDA-approved antidiabetic drug. Comparative docking revealed that chlorogenin had the highest binding affinity of (-9.9 kcal/mol) > rutin (-8.7 kcal/mol) and > acarbose (-7.7 kcal/mol) for α-amylase. While docking with α-glucosidase, chlorogenin again had the highest binding affinity of (-9.8 kcal/mol) > compared to rutin (-9.5 kcal/mol) and acarbose (-7.9 kcal/mol). Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were conducted to assess their stability. We simulated 100 nanoseconds (ns) trajectories to analyze their stability on various parameters, including RMSD, RMSF, RG, SASA, H-bond analysis, PCA, FEL, and MM-PBSA on the six docked proteins. In conclusion, our study suggests that chlorogenin and rutin derived from STV may be effective natural therapeutic agents for diabetes management because of their strong binding affinities for the α-amylase and α-glucosidase enzymes.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Ethnobotany, phytochemistry and pharmacology of Arctotis arctotoides (L.f.) O. Hoffm.: A review

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Arctotis arctotoides (Asteraceae) is part of the genus Arctotis. Arctotis is an African genus of approximately 70 species that occur widely in the African continent with diverse medicinal values. This plant is used for the treatment of indigestion and catarrh of the stomach, epilepsy, topical wounds and skin disorders among the ethnic groups in South Africa and reported to have a wide spectrum of pharmacological properties.

AIM OF THE REVIEW

The aim of the present review is to appraise the botany, traditional uses, phytochemistry, pharmacological potential, analytical methods and safety issues of A. arctotoides. Additionally, this review will help to fill the existing gaps in knowledge and highlight further research prospects in the field of phytochemistry and pharmacology.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Information on A. arctotoides was collected from various resources, including books on African medicinal herbs and Zulu medicinal plants, theses, reports and the internet databases such as SciFinder, Google Scholar, Pubmed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Mendeley by using a combination of various meaningful keywords. This review surveys the available literature of the species from 1962 to April 2017.

RESULTS

In vitro and in vivo studies of the medicinal properties of A. arctotoides were reviewed. The main isolated and identified compounds were reported as sesquiterpenes, farnesol derivatives, germacranolide, guaianolides and some steroids, of which, nine were reported as antimicrobial. Monoterpenoids and sesquiterpenoids were the predominant essential oil compound classes of the leaves, flowers, stems and roots. The present review revealed potential pharmacological properties such as anti-oxidant, antibacterial, antifungal and anticancer activities of plant extracts as well as isolated compounds. Moreover, the review reports the safety profile (toxicity) of the crude extracts that had been screened on brine shrimps, rats and human cell lines.

CONCLUSIONS

The present review has focused on the phytochemistry, botany, ethnopharmacology, biological activities and toxicological information of A. arctotoides. On the basis of reported data, A. arctotoides has emerged as a good source of natural medicine for the treatment of microbial infections, skin diseases, anti-inflammatory and anticancer agents and also provides new insights for further isolation of new bioactive compounds, especially the discovery of antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and anticancer novel therapeutic lead drug molecules. Additionally, intensive investigations regarding pharmacological properties, safety assessment and efficacy with their mechanism of action could be future research interests before starting clinical trials for medicinal practices.

Essential Oils from the Leaves of Six Medicinal Plants of Nigeria

The chemistry of Cassia siamea L., C. occidentalis L. (Fabaceae), Cnestis ferruginea Vahl ex DC (Connaraceae), Anthocleista djalonensis A. Chev (Loganiaceae), Solanum torvum Swartz and S. erianthum G. Don (Solanaceae) volatiles grown in Nigeria have been studied. The essential oils were obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by GC and GC-MS. The main compounds of C. siamea were (E)-geranyl acetone (5.8%), 1-octen-3-ol (5.8%), linalool (7.8%), iso-italicene (15.4%) and (E)-β-damascenone (11.0%). On the other hand, C. occidentalis consisted mainly of (E)-geranyl acetone (8.0%), hexahydrofarnesylacetone (24.0%) and (E)-phytol acetate (40.7%). The oil of C. ferruginea was comprised mainly of (E)-geranyl acetone (13.7%), (E)-α-ionone (9.5%), phytol (5.8%), pentadecanal (6.1%) and 1-octen-3-ol (5.5%). The main compounds of A. djalonensis were α-humulene (31.9%), β-caryophyllene (17.8%), humulene epoxide II (12.7%) and caryophyllene oxide (5.9%). The main volatiles of S. torvum were (E)-phytol acetate (38.7%), pentadecanal (25.3%) and (E)-geranyl acetone (5.0%). Apart from methyl salicylate (4.5%), tetradecanal (2.2%), 2-pentyl furan (1.8%), hexahydrofarnesylacetone (1.6%) and hexadecanal (1.1%), all other compounds were either present in trace quantity or in amounts less than 1%. On the other hand, α-humulene (46.6%) and β-caryophyllene (20.6%) were the compounds occurring in higher quantities in S. erianthum. The volatile oil contents of Cassia siamea, Cnestis ferruginea, Anthocleista djalonensis and Solanum torvum are being reported for the first time.