Molecular Docking Analysis of Ficus religiosa Active Compound with Anti-Inflammatory Activity by Targeting Tumour Necrosis Factor Alpha and Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor in Diabetic Wound Healing

Review of Malaysian medicinal plants with potential wound healing activity

Wound is defined as the damage to biological tissues including skin, mucous membranes and organ tissues. The acute wound heals in less than 4 weeks without complications, while a chronic wound takes longer than 6 weeks to heal. Wound healing occurs in 4 phases, namely, coagulation, inflammatory, proliferative and remodeling phases. Triclosan and benzalkonium chloride are commonly used as skin disinfectants in wound healing. However, they cause allergic contact dermatitis and antibiotic resistance. Medicinal plants are widely studied due to the limited availability of wound healing agents. The present review included six commonly available medicinal plants in Malaysia such as Aloe barbadensis Miller, Carica papaya Linn., Centella asiatica Linn., Cymbopogon nardus Linn., Ficus benghalensis Linn. and Hibiscus rosa sinensis Linn. Various search engines and databases were used to obtain the scientific findings, including Google Scholar, ScienceDirect, PubMed Central and Research Gate. The review discussed the possible mechanism of action of medicinal plants and their active constituents in the wound healing process. In addition, their application in nanotechnology and wound dressings was also discussed in detail.

Evaluation of anti-inflammatory potential and GC-MS profiling of leaf extracts from Clerodendrum infortunatum L

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Clerodendrum infortunatum L. is commonly distributed in tropical and subtropical countries and is widely used in the indigenous systems of medicine including Ayurveda, Unani, and Homeopathy. The plant has important uses in the treatment of various inflammatory disorders which includes asthma, cough, chest complaints, pain, rheumatism, osteoarthritis, gastric ulcer, cancer, diabetes, skin diseases etc. AIM OF THE STUDY: Regarding the extensive healing properties of C. infortunatum in folk medicine, we aimed to explore the anti-inflammatory activity of the plant and analyze its bioactive components.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Sequential extracts were prepared from C. infortunatum leaves using n-hexane, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate, methanol, ethanol and water. In vitro anti-inflammatory activity of these extracts were evaluated using membrane stabilization and protein anti-denaturation assays. Toxicity of the extracts was tested using brine shrimp lethality assay. GC-MS analysis has been carried out to analyze and characterize various bioactive constituents present in the plant.

RESULTS

Each of the tested extracts showed significant (p < 0.05) in vitro anti-inflammatory activity. Sequential ethyl acetate extract demonstrated the strongest membrane stabilization and protein anti-denaturation activities with IC50 values of 331.3, 308.3 and 279.2 μg/mL for heat and hypotonicity induced membrane stabilization and protein anti-denaturation assays, respectively. Sequential methanol extract also exhibited strong activity in heat and hypotonicity induced membrane stabilization and protein anti-denaturation assays with IC50 values of 371.5, 331.6 and 284.6 μg/mL, respectively. The extracts demonstrated a range of toxicity in the brine shrimp lethality assay with LC50 values of 51.4, 59.7, 47.3, 37.1, 68.1 and 77.3 μg/mL for n-hexane, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate, methanol, ethanol and water extracts respectively. The GC-MS analysis of direct n-hexane, ethyl acetate and methanol extracts detected 32 different compounds. The major compounds (> 5%) were phenol, 3,5-bis(1,1-dimethylethyl)-, hexadecanoic acid methyl ester, estragole, methyl stearate, lanosterol, 9-methoxybicyclo[6.1.0]nona-2,4,6-triene, benzenepropanoic acid, 3,5-bis(1,1-dimethylethyl) 4 hydroxy methyl ester, 22,23-dibromostigmasterol acetate, 3-methyl-4-(phenylthio)-2-prop-2-enyl-2,5-dihydrothiophene 1,1-dioxide, benzenemethanol, α-methyl-α-propyl- and 9-octadecenoic acid (Z)- methyl ester.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings of our study revealed that C. infortunatum is rich with diverse bioactive phytoconstituents and the scientific evidences support the anti-inflammatory potential of the plant.

Molecular Docking Analysis from Bryophyllum pinnatum Compound as A COVID-19 Cytokine Storm Therapy

BACKGROUND: Cytokine storm is a condition that typically develops during severe COVID-19 viral infection and contributes cause of death. Bryophyllum pinnatum is a herbal medicinal that has an impact as an anti-inflammatory agent. B. pinnatum may be used as a therapeutic agent for cytokine storms. AIM: We were investigating the molecular interactions of B. pinnatum active compounds with cytokines involved in COVID-19 infection. METHODS: We did the molecular docking approach using the active chemicals from Bryphyllum pinnatum, which was available on the PubChem website. Meanwhile, the protein utilized is retrieved from the protein databank. Pyrx 9.5, Pymol, and Discovery Studio software were used to evaluate and visualize the interaction results between ligands and the proteins formed. RESULTS: Bryophyllin B has the strongest affinity to IL-6, whereas Bryotoxin A had the highest binding to Gly-ACE and TNF alpha. Pharmacokinetic predictions indicate that Bryophyllin B has a good pharmacokinetic profile but a low toxicity profile due to a reproductive effect. On the other hand, Bryotoxin A has a poor pharmacokinetic profile but is safe for human use. CONCLUSIONS: Bryophyllin B and Bryotoxin A show potential as a therapy for the cytokine storm of COVID-19 infection. However, further study is required to examine the effectiveness and toxicity of these compounds.