Hepatoprotective Activity of Leptadenia hastata (Asclepiadaceae) on Acetaminophen-Induced Toxicity in Mice: In Vivo Study and Characterization of Bioactive Compounds through Molecular Docking Approaches

Qualitative and quantitative chemical analysis of Leptadenia hastata: exploring a traditional african medicinal plant

Leptadenia hastata (Pers.) Decne is a commonly used food source and prescribed as a traditional African medicine for treatment of various diseases, such as diabetes, skin disorders, wounds, and ulcers. However, quality control has become a bottleneck restricting the therapeutic development and utilization of this plant. In this study, a reliable method for qualitative and quantitative determination of components in Leptadenia hastata was established. The components of L. hastata were profiled using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadruple time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS). Subsequently, an ultra-high performance tandem diode array detector (UHPLC-DAD)-based method was used for simultaneous quantitative analysis of five major constituents in six batches of L. hastata samples. As a result, 35 compounds were tentatively identified. The quantities of the five constituents (vicenin-Ⅱ, orientin, schaftoside, chrysin 6-C-arabinoside 8-C-glucoside, chrysin 6-C-glucoside 8-C-arabinoside) were determined as 124.8-156.9 μg/g, 170.5-216.0 μg/g, 61.31-93.73 μg/g, 85.13-119.3 μg/g and 99.82-129.4 μg/g, respectively. This method offers a successful strategy for precise and effective evaluation of the constituents of L. hastata, providing a robust foundation for holistic quality assessment of medicinal plants.

Natural Products for Acetaminophen-Induced Acute Liver Injury: A Review

The liver plays a vital role in metabolism, synthesis, and detoxification, but it is susceptible to damage from various factors such as viral infections, drug reactions, excessive alcohol consumption, and autoimmune diseases. This susceptibility is particularly problematic for patients requiring medication, as drug-induced liver injury often leads to underestimation, misdiagnosis, and difficulties in treatment. Acetaminophen (APAP) is a widely used and safe drug in therapeutic doses but can cause liver toxicity when taken in excessive amounts. This study aimed to investigate the hepatotoxicity of APAP and explore potential treatment strategies using a mouse model of APAP-induced liver injury. The study involved the evaluation of various natural products for their therapeutic potential. The findings revealed that natural products demonstrated promising hepatoprotective effects, potentially alleviating liver damage and improving liver function through various mechanisms such as oxidative stress and inflammation, which cause changes in signaling pathways. These results underscore the importance of exploring novel treatment options for drug-induced liver injury, suggesting that further research in this area could lead to the development of effective preventive and therapeutic interventions, ultimately benefiting patients with liver injury caused by medicine.

Phytochemical Characterization, Functional Nutrition, and Anti-Diabetic Potentials of Leptadenia hastata (pers) Decne Leaves: In Silico and In Vitro Studies

The geometrical increase in diabetes mellitus (DM) and the undesirable side effects of synthetic drugs have intensified efforts to search for an effective and safe anti-diabetic therapy. This study aimed to identify the antioxidant and anti-diabetic agents in the ethanol extract of Leptadenia hastata (EELH). The phytochemicals, antioxidant vitamins, and minerals present in EELH were determined using standard procedures to achieve this aim. Gas chromatography coupled with mass spectroscopy and flame ionization detector (GC-MS/GC-FID) was employed to identify bioactive compounds. An e-pharmacophore model was generated from the extra precision, and energy-minimized docked position of standard inhibitor, acarbose onto human pancreatic amylase (HPA, PDB-6OCN). It was used to screen the GC-MS/GC-FID library of compounds. The top-scoring compounds were subjected to glide XP-docking and prime MM-GBSA calculation with the Schrodinger suite-v12.4. The Adsorption, Distribution, Metabolism, Excretion, and Toxicity (ADMET) prediction of the best-fit compounds was made using SwissADME and PROTOX-II webservers. Further validation of the docking results was performed with the in vitro analysis of the α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibitory activities. EELH contains appreciable amounts of antioxidant and anti-diabetic phytoconstituents. The top-4 scoring compounds (rutin, epicatechin, kaempferol, and naringenin) from the EELH phytochemical library interacted with amino acid residues within and around the HPA active site. The ADMET prediction shows that epicatechin, kaempferol, and naringenin had favorable drug-likeness, pharmacokinetic properties, and a good safety profile. EELH demonstrated good inhibitory actions against α-amylase and α-glucosidase with 1C₅₀ values of 14.14 and 4.22 µg/mL, respectively. Thus, L hastata phytoconstituents are promising novel candidates for developing an anti-diabetic drug.

Indigenous Nigeria medicinal herbal remedies: A potential source for therapeutic against rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a debilitating disease associated with locomotion impairment, and conventional therapeutic drugs are not optimal for managing RA. There is an avalanche of medications used for the management of RA. Still, studies have shown that they are associated with severe side effects, including hepatotoxicity, retinopathy, and cardiotoxicity disorders of the central nervous system (CNS), skin, blood, and infections. Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is currently gaining attention as a novel panacea for managing debilitating diseases, such as RA. Nigerian folk herbal remedies are replete with a plethora of curative medicine, albeit unvalidated scientifically but with seemingly miraculous provenance. Studies of the identification of bioactive compounds present in these botanicals using advanced spectral analytical techniques have enhanced our understanding of the role of Nigerian herbal remedies in the treatment and management of RA. Interestingly, experimental studies abound that the bioactive compounds present in the extracts of plant botanicals protected animals from the development of RA in different experimental models and reduced the toxicity associated with conventional therapeutics. Validated mechanisms of RA amelioration in human and animal models include suppression of the expression of NF-κB, IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-6, IL-8, IL-17, IL-23, chemokines, TGF-β, RANKL, RANK, iNOS, arginase, COX-2, VEGFA, VEGFR, NFATC1, and TRAP in the synoviocytes. Decreased ROS, NO, MDA, carbonyl groups, and PGE₂ in the synovial fluid increased the expression of PPARα/γ; antioxidant and anti-inflammatory molecules also improve RA etiology. In this mini-review, we discuss the global burden of RA, the novel role of plant-based botanicals as potential therapeutics against signaling pathways in RA. Also addressed is the possible repurposing/reprofiling of plant botanicals to increase their therapeutic index among RA patients that patronize traditional healers in Nigeria with a global projection.

Chemico-Pharmacological Screening of the Methanol Extract of Gynura nepalensis D.C. Deciphered Promising Antioxidant and Hepatoprotective Potentials: Evidenced from in vitro, in vivo, and Computer-Aided Studies

Gynura nepalensis D.C. (family: Asteraceae) has abundant uses in the alternative medicinal practice, and this species is commonly used in the treatment of diabetes, rheumatism, cuts or wounds, asthma, kidney stones, cough, urinary tract bleeding, gall bladder stones, hepatitis, diarrhea, hemorrhoids, constipation, vomiting, fertility problems, blood poisoning, septicemia, skin allergy, indigestion, high cholesterol levels, and so on. This study aims to investigate the hepatoprotective and antioxidant potential of the methanol extract of the Gynura nepalensis D.C. (GNME) along with chemical profiling with phytochemical screening. Moreover, prospective phytocompounds have been screened virtually to present the binding affinity of the bioactive components to the hepatic and oxidative receptors. In the hepatoprotective study, alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), total protein (TP), and lipid peroxidation (LP) and total bilirubin (TB) have been assessed, and in the antioxidant study, the DPPH free radical scavenging, total antioxidant flavonoid, and phenolic contents were determined. Moreover, the molecular binding affinity of the bioactive component of the plant has been analyzed using PyRx AutoDock Vina, Chimera, and Discovery Studio software. The plant extract showed dose-dependent hepatoprotective potential (p < 0.05, 0.01, 0.001) as well as strong antioxidant properties. Moreover, hepatoprotective and antioxidant molecular docking studies revealed a result varying from −2.90 kcal/mol to −10.1 kcal/mol. 4,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid and chlorogenic acid revealed the highest binding affinity among the selected molecules. However, the plant showed portent antioxidant and hepatoprotective properties in the in vitro, in vivo, and in silico models, and it is presumed that the hepatoprotective properties of the plant extract have occurred due to the presence of the vast bioactive chemical compounds as well as their antioxidant properties. Therefore, advanced studies are recommended to elucidate the pharmacological properties of the plant extracts.

Chemodiversity, Biological Activities and Molecular Docking Studies of Leptadenia pyrotechnica (Forssk.) Decne: A Comprehensive Approach to Validate Its Medicinal Use

Leptadenia pyrotechnica (Forssk.) Decne is growing in Cholistan desert, and is known for its laxative, analgesic, anabolic and astringent, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antitumor, hypolipidemic and antiatherosclerotic properties. The present study disclosed the metabolic picture of L. pyrotechnica and validates its folk uses. LP-H fraction constitute 25.79±0.11 mgGAE/g extract and 20.64±0.33 mgRE/g extract of phenolic and flavonoid content, respectively, followed by LP-E (23.15±0.33 mgGAE/g extract and 19.40±0.13 mgRE/g extract), however, LP-E exhibited the highest free radical scavenging (DPPH: 21.05±0.45mgTE/g and ABTS: 68.12±0.53 mgTE/g) and metal reducing (FRAP: 44.93±1.66, CUPRAC: 117.42±1.28 mgTE/g, respectively) activities. The total antioxidant capacity in Phosphomolybdenum assay (1.52±0.14 mmolTE/g) and ferrous ion chelating (11.57±0.29 mgEDTAE/g) activities were observed highest for LP-H extract. In cholinesterase's inhibitory assays, the LP-E and LP-W extracts exhibited inhibitory values as 2.43 and 2.40±0.07 mgGALAE/g extract, respectively against AChE, while against BChE the LP-H displayed the highest value as 5.98±0.44 mgGALAE/g extract. The LP-H fraction also showed the highest inhibition potential (7.72±0.14 mmol ACAE/g and 0.55±0.01 mmol ACAE/g, respectively) against α-glucosidase and α-amylase enzymes, while, in tyrosinase inhibitory assay, all the fractions exhibited significant activities in the range of 59.35±0.29 to 55.18±0.49 mgKAE/g extract. RP-UHPLC/MS analysis of LP-M disclosed the presence of 57 metabolites of various classes. A multivariate analysis and molecular docking study was also carried out to establish relationships between the metabolites and the biological activities, which finally validate the use of L. pyrotechnica as herbal medicine or component nutraceutical, food and cosmetic industry.

Hepatoprotective Activity of Pirdot Leaves (Saurauia vulcani Korth) Ethanol Extract in Laboratory Rats (Rattus norvegicus) and Characterization of Bioactive Compounds Using a Molecular Docking Approach

AIM: The hepatoprotective activities of  bioactive compounds Pirdot were investigated in vivo and in silico. METHODS: In this study, the completely randomized design non-factorial was experimentally to assess the value of SGPT and SGOT and twenty four adult male rats were divided into four groups : group G0, control group; group G1, a treated group received 0.1 ml sheep red blood cell; group G2, a treated group received 500 mg ethanol extract Pirdot; group G3, a group treated received 500 mg ethanol extract Pirdot and 0,1 ml sheep red blood cell. On thirty one days of treatment, the blood of all rats group were taken to value SGPT and SGOT using DiaLab kit. Furthermore, the molecular docking study was done to analyse molecular interaction that COX-2 and  TNF-α were the primary target protein of bioactive compounds of Pirdot associated with hepatoprotective activities. In addition, it tends to be the target of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as Ibuprofen. RESULTS: The results show SGOT and SGPT value significantly [p<0.05] decreased on Group G2 and G3. Moreover, the bioactive compounds of Pirdot, such as Pomolic acid and Ursolic acid tend to be the potential compound on liver protection. Moreover, Pomolic acid has a good binding affinity -14.6 kcal mol-1 with COX-2 Protein and the binding affinity of cis-3-O-p-hydroxycinnamoyl Ursolic acid was -15.1 kcal mol-1 associated with TNF-α Protein. CONLUSION:  Pirdot Leaves (Saurauia vulcani Korth.)  Ethanol Extract showed Hepatoprotective activity in rats (Rattus norvegicus). Molecular docking approach showed that pomolic acid has a good binding affinity with COX-2 Protein and TNF-α Protein.

Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Anacardium occidentale L. and Anacardium microcarpum D. Extracts on the Liver of IL-10 Knockout Mice

Background

The Anacardium occidentale L. (cashew) and Anacardium microcarpum D. (cajuí) are plants commonly found in Brazil. They present phytochemical compounds with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory action. Therefore, the objective of this study was to analyze the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of ethanolic extracts from leaves of A. occidentale and A. microcarpum and its effect on the hepatic tissue in experimental knockout models after they received Paracetamol®.

Methods

Ethanol extracts from A. occidentale and A. microcarpum leaves were prepared. Total phenolics were determined by Folin–Ciocalteau reagent, and flavonoids are based on the complexation reaction with the aluminum metal, forming a colored complex. Fingerprint HPLC was performed to detect phenolic compounds. Knockout IL-10 mice randomly divided into six groups were used and received the following treatments: G1, only water; G2, A. occidentale extract; G3, A. microcarpum extract; G4, Paracetamol®; G5, Paracetamol® + A. occidentale extract (400 mg/kg); G6, Paracetamol® + A. microcarpum extract (400 mg/kg). Biochemical parameters of the blood and differential count of leukocytes were done. Oxidative markers and histopathological analyses were performed on their liver tissue.

Results

Phenolic compounds and total flavonoids were detected in both two extracts analyzed. The HPLC fingerprint detected phenolic acid, gallic acid, and catechin flavonoid in the two extracts. Histopathological analyses of the hepatic tissue permitted evaluation of nuclear increase, sinusoid congestion, and inflammatory infiltrate. A. microcarpum presented more antioxidant activity increasing antioxidant enzyme levels and reducing TBARS and carbonyl protein when compared to the other treatments after exposure to Paracetamol®. Histopathological analyses showed a decrease in the inflammatory infiltrate after treatment with extracts.

Conclusion

Our findings indicate that both extracts, especially A. microcarpum, can reduce hepatic damage in knockout mice exposed to paracetamol, indicating the curative power of these extracts reducing lipid peroxidation and in the morphofunctional damage to the liver parenchyma.