In Vivo, In Vitro and In Silico Study of Cucurbita moschata Flower Extract: A Promising Source of Natural Analgesic, Anti-Inflammatory, and Antibacterial Agents.

For thousands of years, medicinal plants have played a pivotal role in maintaining human health and improving the quality of human life. This study was designed to analyze the analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial potentials of a hydro-methanolic extract of Cucurbita moschata flowers, along with qualitative and quantitative phytochemical screening. The anti-inflammatory effect was tested using the in vitro membrane stabilizing method for human red blood cells (HRBC), the analgesic effect was tested using the in vivo acetic acid-induced writing method, and the antibacterial effect was tested using the disc diffusion method. In silico ADME/T and molecular docking studies were performed to assess the potential of the stated phytochemicals against Cyclooxygenase-II enzyme. Phytochemical screening confirmed the presence of flavonoids, alkaloids, glycosides, tannins, and carbohydrates. The flower extract demonstrated the maximum protection of human red blood cells at 1000 µg/mL, with a 65.73% reduction in hemolysis in a hypotonic solution. The extract also showed significant (p < 0.05) and dose-dependent analgesic effects at oral doses of 200 and 400 mg/kg on the tested animals. Furthermore, the flower extract exhibited potent antibacterial activity due to the disc diffusion method, which was compared with standard ciprofloxacin. In silico testing revealed that 42 phytochemicals exhibited notable pharmacokinetic properties and passed drug likeness screening tests. Among the six best-selected compounds, 3,4-dihydro-2H-pyran-2-yl)methanamine showed the highest binding affinity (-10.1) with significant non-bonding interactions with the target enzyme. In conclusion, the hydro-methanolic extract of Cucurbita moschata was found to be rich in various phytochemicals that may be associated with therapeutic potential, and this study supports the traditional use of Cucurbita moschata flowers in the management of inflammation and painful conditions.

Biological Functions of Dillenia pentagyna Roxb. Against Pain, Inflammation, Fever, Diarrhea, and Thrombosis: Evidenced From in vitro, in vivo, and Molecular Docking Study.

Dillenia pentagyna Roxb. is traditionally used to treat cancer, wound healing, diabetes, and diarrhea in local tribes. This study was designed to evaluate the pharmacological potentiality of this plant. In vivo analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and antipyretic studies of the methanol extracts of D. pentagyna (MEDP) leaves were performed by using acetic acid-induced nociception, formalin-induced paw licking, and yeast-induced pyrexia assay methods, respectively. In vivo antidiarrheal activity was carried out in mice by following castor oil-induced diarrhea and gastrointestinal transit manner. In vitro thrombolytic experiment was performed employing the clot lysis activity. Besides, a molecular docking study was performed by executing the software (PyRx, Discovery Studio, and UCSF Chimera). In the acetic acid-induced writhing study, MEDP possesses significant writhing inhibition in a dose-dependent manner. It showed 50.86% of maximum inhibition of pain in the case of MEDP at a dose of 400 mg/kg body weight. In the anti-inflammatory study, maximum inhibition rate was observed at a value of 59.98 and 41.29% in early and late phases, respectively, at the dose of 400 mg/kg body weight. In the case of yeast-induced hyperpyrexia, MEDP reduced hyperpyrexia in a dose-dependent manner. In the antidiarrheal assay, MEDP moderately inhibited the occurrence of diarrhea in all the experiments. In the thrombolytic study, a moderate (17.76%) clot lysis potency has been yielded by MEDP. Again, the molecular docking simulation revealed strong binding affinities with almost all the targeted proteins. The present study suggests that the MEDP possesses remarkable pharmacological activity and this finding validated the ethnobotanical significance of D. pentagyna as the source of pain, fever, and diarrhea management agent.

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.

Chemical, Pharmacological and Computerized Molecular Analysis of Stem's Extracts of Bauhinia scandens L. Provide Insights into the Management of Diarrheal and Microbial Infections.

Bauhinia scandens L. (Family: Fabaceae) is commonly used to treat cholera, diarrhea, asthma, and diabetes disorder in integrative medicine. This study aimed to screen the presence of phytochemicals (preliminary and UPLC-QTOF-M.S. analysis) and to examine the pharmacological activities of Bauhinia scandens L. stems (MEBS) stem extracts. Besides, in silico study was also implemented to elucidate the binding affinity and drug capability of the selected phytochemicals. In vivo anti diarrheal activity was investigated in mice models. In vitro, antibacterial and antifungal properties of MEBS against several pathogenic strains were evaluated using the disc diffusion method. In addition, in silico study has been employed using Discovery studio 2020, UCFS Chimera, PyRx autodock vina, and online tools. In the anti-diarrheal investigation, MEBS showed a significant dose-dependent inhibition rate in all three methods. The antibacterial and antifungal screening showed a remarkable zone of inhibition, of the diameter 14-26 mm and 12-28 mm, by MEBS. The present study revealed that MEBS has remarkable anti-diarrheal potential and is highly effective in wide-spectrum bacterial and fungal strains. Moreover, the in silico study validated the results of biological screenings. To conclude, MEBS is presumed to be a good source in treating diarrhea, bacterial and fungal infections.