RETRACTED: Ahmad et al. Neuroprotection against Aluminum Chloride-Induced Hippocampus Damage in Albino Wistar Rats by Leucophyllum frutescens (Berl.) I.M. Johnst. Leaf Extracts: A Detailed Insight into Phytochemical Analysis and Antioxidant and Enzyme Inhibition Assays. Front. Biosci. (Landmark Ed) 2023, 28(8), 184.

The Editors-in-Chief have retracted the article titled "[Neuroprotection against Aluminum Chloride-Induced Hippocampus Damage in Albino Wistar Rats by Leucophyllum frutescens (Berl.) I.M. Johnst. Leaf Extracts: A Detailed Insight into Phytochemical Analysis and Antioxidant and Enzyme Inhibition Assays]" ([1]) due to significant concerns regarding the reliability and integrity of the data presented. After the publication of the article, several issues were brought to our attention regarding the originality and authenticity of the visual data within the manuscript. Specifically, Figure 4 of the article contains images that are identical to those in the previously published papers [2, 3]. This duplication of images raises serious questions about the validity of the results and the adherence to ethical standards of research. Despite multiple attempts to contact the authors for an explanation and an opportunity to address these concerns, no satisfactory response was provided. Given the lack of accountability and the serious nature of the academic misconduct implied, the Editor-in-Chief, after careful consideration and in accordance with the publication's ethical guidelines, has decided to retract the article.

Chemical Profiling, in-vitro biological evaluation and molecular docking studies of Ruellia tweediana: An unexplored plant.

Many Ruellia species have been utilized in traditional medicine and despite the prevalent use of Ruellia tweediana in folk medicine, its antioxidant potential and polyphenol content have not been investigated. Therefore, the present study aimed to explore the medicinal value of R. tweediana by evaluating its total phenolic (TPC) and flavonoid contents (TFC), GC-MS analysis, antioxidant, antibacterial, and enzyme inhibition activities. The TPC and TFC of the extract/fractions were assessed using the Folin-Ciocalteu and aluminum trichloride methods, respectively. To determine the antioxidant capacity, five different assays were used: DPPH, ABTS, CUPRAC, FRAP, and metal chelating assays. The inhibition activity against α-glucosidase, α-amylase, cholinesterases, and lipoxygenase enzymes was also analyzed. Furthermore, GC-MS was performed for chemical screening of non-polar fraction. The methanol extract showed the maximum TPC (167.34 ± 2.23 mg GAE/g) and TFC (120.43 ± 1.71 mg RE/g) values among all the tested samples. GC-MS screening of the n-hexane fraction showed the presence of 40 different phytoconstituents. The results demonstrated the highest scavenging potential of the methanol extract against DPPH (167.79 ± 2.75 mg TE/g) and ABTS (255.32 ± 2.91 mg TE/g) radicals, as well as the metal-reducing capacity measured by CUPRAC (321.34 ± 3.09 mg TE/g), FRAP (311.32 ± 2.91 mg TE/g), and metal chelating assay (246.78 ± 10.34 mg EDTAE/g). Notably, the n-hexane fraction revealed the highest α-glucosidase and α-amylase inhibition activity (186.8 ± 2.84 and 179.7 ± 4.32 mg ACAE/g, respectively) while methanol extract showed highest acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase inhibition activity (198.6 ± 3.31 and 184.3 ± 2.92 mg GALE/g, respectively). The GC-MS identified Lupeol showed best binding affinity with all docked enzymes as compared to standard compounds. The presence of bioactive phytoconstituents showed by GC-MS underscores the medicinal importance of R. tweediana, making it a promising candidate for natural medicine.

Phytochemical characterization of Typha domingensis and the assessment of therapeutic potential using in vitro and in vivo biological activities and in silico studies.

Typha domingensis, a medicinal plant with significant traditional importance for curing various human diseases, has potentially bioactive compounds but was less explored previously. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the therapeutic potential of T. domingensis by evaluating the phytochemical profile through high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) techniques and its biological activities (in vitro and in vivo) from the methanolic extract derived from the entire plant (TDME). The secondary metabolite profile of TDME regulated by reverse phase ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (RP-UHPLC-MS) revealed some bioactive compounds by -ve and +ve modes of ionization. The HPLC quantification study showed the precise quantity of polyphenols (p-coumaric acid, 207.47; gallic acid, 96.25; and kaempferol, 95.78 µg/g extract). The enzyme inhibition assays revealed the IC50 of TDME as 44.75 ± 0.51, 52.71 ± 0.01, and 67.19 ± 0.68 µgmL-1, which were significant compared to their respective standards (indomethacin, 18.03 ± 0.12; quercetin, 4.11 ± 0.01; and thiourea, 8.97 ± 0.11) for lipoxygenase, α-glucosidase, and urease, respectively. Safety was assessed by in vitro hemolysis (4.25% ± 0.16% compared to triton × 100, 93.51% ± 0.36%), which was further confirmed (up to 10 g/kg) by an in vivo model of rats. TDME demonstrated significant (p < 0.05) potential in analgesic activity by hot plate and tail immersion tests and anti-inflammatory activity by the carrageenan-induced hind paw edema model. Pain latency decreased significantly, and the anti-inflammatory effect increased in a dose-dependent way. Additionally, in silico molecular docking revealed that 1,3,4,5-tetracaffeoylquinic acid and formononetin 7-O-glucoside-6″-O-malonate possibly contribute to enzyme inhibitory activities due to their higher binding affinities compared to standard inhibitors. An in silico absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and toxicological study also predicted the pharmacokinetics and safety of the chosen compounds identified from TDME. To sum up, it was shown that TDME contains bioactive chemicals and has strong biological activities. The current investigations on T. domingensis could be extended to explore its potential applications in nutraceutical industries and encourage the isolation of novel molecules with anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects.

Neuroprotection against Aluminum Chloride-Induced Hippocampus Damage in Albino Wistar Rats by Leucophyllum frutescens (Berl.) I.M. Johnst. Leaf Extracts: A Detailed Insight into Phytochemical Analysis and Antioxidant and Enzyme Inhibition Assays.

BACKGROUND: A previously unstudied medicinal plant, Leucophyllum frutescens (Berland.) I.M. Johnst. (Scrophulariaceae) was investigated to evaluate its potential in preventing and treating neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease. METHODS: Methanolic leaf extract (MELE) and its fractions (HELE, CHLE, and BULE) were evaluated for their polyphenolic content and antioxidant activity by five different methods, including in vitro enzyme inhibition assays, which are clinically linked to neurodegenerative diseases. The potentially active n-butanol fraction (BULE) was further evaluated for its neuroprotective effects using an albino rat animal model and phytoconstituents profiling using Liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), and in silico molecular docking by Maestro® Schrödinger. RESULTS: The n-butanol fraction (BULE) in the hydroalcoholic leaf extract exhibited the highest total phenolic content (230.435 ± 1.575 mg gallic acid equivalent gm-1± SD). The chloroform leaf extract exhibited the highest total flavonoid content (293.343 ± 3.756 mg quercetin equivalent gm-1± SD) as well as the highest antioxidant content, which was equivalent to Trolox, with five assay methods. Similarly, the chloroform and n-butanol fractions from the hydroalcoholic leaf extract significantly inhibited human acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase with their IC50 values of 12.14 ± 0.85 and 129.73 ± 1.14 µg∙mL-1, respectively. The in vivo study revealed that BULE exhibited a significant neuroprotective effect at doses of 200 and 400 mg/kg/day in an aluminum chloride-induced neurodegenerative albino rat model. The LC-MS/MS analysis of BULE tentatively confirmed the presence of biologically active secondary metabolites, such as theobromine, propyl gallate, quercetin-3-O-glucoside, myricetin-3-acetylrhamnoside, isoquercitrin-6'-O-malonate, diosmetin-7-O-glucuronide-3'-O-pentose, pinoresinol diglucoside, asarinin, eridictoyl, epigallocatechin, methyl gallate derivative, and eudesmin. The results from the computational molecular docking of the identified secondary metabolites revealed that diosmetin-7-O-glucuronide-3'-O-pentose had the highest binding affinity to human butyrylcholinesterase, while isoquercetin-6'-O-malonate had the highest to human acetylcholinesterase, and pinoresinol diglucoside to human salivary alpha-amylase. CONCLUSIONS: The present study concluded a need for further exploration into this medicinal plant, including the isolation of the bioactive compounds responsible for its neuroprotective effects.

Chemical Characterisation, Antidiabetic, Antibacterial, and In Silico Studies for Different Extracts of Haloxylon stocksii (Boiss.) Benth: A Promising Halophyte.

The objective of the study is to evaluate the chemical characterisation, and biological and in silico potential of Haloxylon stocksii (Boiss.) Benth, an important halophyte commonly used in traditional medicine. The research focuses on the roots and aerial parts of the plant and extracts them using two solvents: methanol and dichloromethane. Chemical characterisation of the extracts was carried out using total phenolic contents quantification, GC-MS analysis, and LC-MS screening. The results exhibited that the aerial parts of the plant have significantly higher total phenolic content than the roots. The GC-MS and LC-MS analysis of the plant extracts revealed the identification of 18 bioactive compounds in each. The biological evaluation was performed using antioxidant, antibacterial, and in vitro antidiabetic assays. The results exhibited that the aerial parts of the plant have higher antioxidant and in vitro antidiabetic activity than the roots. Additionally, the aerial parts of the plant were most effective against Gram-positive bacteria. Molecular docking was done to evaluate the binding affinity (BA) of the bioactive compounds characterised by GC-MS with diabetic enzymes used in the in vitro assay. The results showed that the BA of γ-sitosterol was better than that of acarbose, which is used as a standard in the in vitro assay. Overall, this study suggests that the extract from aerial parts of H. stocksii using methanol as a solvent have better potential as a new medicinal plant and can provide a new aspect to develop more potent medications. The research findings contribute to the scientific data of the medicinal properties of Haloxylon stocksii and provide a basis for further evaluation of its potential as a natural remedy.

Metabolic Profiling by GC-MS, In Vitro Biological Potential, and In Silico Molecular Docking Studies of Verbena officinalis.

Verbena officinalis L. is a traditionally important medicinal herb that has a rich source of bioactive phytoconstituents with biological benefits. The objective of this study was to assess the metabolic profile and in vitro biological potential of V. officinalis. The bioactive phytoconstituents were evaluated by preliminary phytochemical studies, estimation of polyphenolic contents, and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis of all fractions (crude methanolic, n-hexane, ethyl acetate, and n-butanol) of V. officinalis. The biological investigation was performed by different assays including antioxidant assays (DPPH, ABTS, CUPRAC, and FRAP), enzyme inhibition assays (urease and α-glucosidase), and hemolytic activity. The ethyl acetate extract had the maximum concentration of total phenolic and total flavonoid contents (394.30 ± 1.09 mg GAE·g-1 DE and 137.35 ± 0.94 mg QE·g-1 DE, respectively). Significant antioxidant potential was observed in all fractions by all four antioxidant methods. Maximum urease inhibitory activity in terms of IC50 value was shown by ethyl acetate fraction (10 ± 1.60 µg mL-1) in comparison to standard hydroxy urea (9.8 ± 1.20 µg·mL-1). The n-hexane extract showed good α-glucosidase inhibitory efficacy (420 ± 20 µg·mL-1) as compared to other extract/fractions. Minimum hemolytic activity was found in crude methanolic fraction (6.5 ± 0.94%) in comparison to positive standard Triton X-100 (93.5 ± 0.48%). The GC-MS analysis of all extract/fractions of V. officinalis including crude methanolic, n-hexane, ethyl acetate, and n-butanol fractions, resulted in the identification of 24, 56, 25, and 9 bioactive compounds, respectively, with 80% quality index. Furthermore, the bioactive compounds identified by GC-MS were analyzed using in silico molecular docking studies to determine the binding affinity between ligands and enzymes (urease and α-glucosidase). In conclusion, V. officinalis possesses multiple therapeutical potentials, and further research is needed to explore its use in the treatment of chronic diseases.

Phytochemical Profiling, In Vitro Biological Activities, and In-Silico Studies of Ficus vasta Forssk.: An Unexplored Plant.

Ficus vasta Forssk. (Moraceae family) is an important medicinal plant that has not been previously investigated for its phytochemical and biological potential. Phytochemical screening, total bioactive content, and GCMS analysis were used to determine its phytoconstituents profile. Antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal, anti-viral, cytotoxicity, thrombolytic, and enzyme inhibition activities were examined for biological evaluation. The plant extract exhibited the maximum total phenolic (89.47 ± 3.21 mg GAE/g) and total flavonoid contents (129.2 ± 4.14 mg QE/g), which may be related to the higher antioxidant potential of the extract. The extract showed strong α-amylase (IC50 5 ± 0.21 µg/mL) and α-glucosidase inhibition activity (IC50 5 ± 0.32 µg/mL). Significant results were observed in the case of antibacterial, antifungal, and anti-viral activities. The F. vasta extract inhibited the growth of HepG2 cells in a dose-dependent manner. The GCMS analysis of the extract provided the preliminary identification of 28 phytocompounds. In addition, the compounds identified by GCMS were subjected to in silico molecular docking analysis in order to identify any interactions between the compounds and enzymes (α-amylase and α-glucosidase). After that, the best-docked compounds were subjected to ADMET studies which provide information on pharmacokinetics, drug-likeness, physicochemical properties, and toxicity. The present study highlighted that the ethanol extract of F. vasta has antidiabetic, antimicrobial, anti-viral, and anti-cancer potentials that can be further explored for novel drug development.

Chemical Profiling, Formulation Development, In Vitro Evaluation and Molecular Docking of Piper nigrum Seeds Extract Loaded Emulgel for Anti-Aging.

Emulgel is a new innovatory technique for drug development permitting controlled release of active ingredients for topical administration. We report a stable emulgel of 4% Piper nigrum extract (PNE) prepared using 80% ethanol. The PNE-loaded formulation had an antioxidant activity of 84% and tyrosinase inhibition was 82%. Prepared formulation rendered spherical-shaped globules with high zeta potential (-45.5 mV) indicative of a stable system. Total phenolic contents were 58.01 mg GAE/g of dry extract whereas total flavonoid content was 52.63 mg QE/g of dry extract. Sun protection factor for PNE-loaded emulgel was 7.512 and formulation was stable without any evidence of physical and chemical changes following 90 days of storage. Gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) revealed seventeen bioactive compounds in the PNE including monoterpenoids, triterpenoids, a tertiary alcohol, fatty acid esters, and phytosterols. In silico studies of GC-MS identified compounds show higher binding affinity in comparison to standard kojic acid indicating tyrosinase inhibition. It can be concluded that PNE-loaded emulgel had prominent antioxidant and tyrosinase inhibition and can be utilized as a promising topical system for anti-aging skin formulation.

Chemical Composition and Biological Evaluation of Typha domingensis Pers. to Ameliorate Health Pathologies: In Vitro and In Silico Approaches.

Human diseases are becoming more prevalent, necessitating the development of modalities to overcome the challenges of treating various disorders. In the current research, we analyzed the biomedicinal role of Typha domingensis which is an important medicinal plant. The species is traditionally used in the treatment of neurological disorders and skin malignancies. The chloroform (CFTD) and n-butanol fractions of T. domingensis (BFTD) were subjected to chemical profiling through the determination of total polyphenolic contents and GC-MS analysis. The oral toxicity test was applied to investigate the toxicity of the extracts. Antioxidant capacity was analyzed by four in vitro methods: DPPH, ABTS, FRAP, and CUPRAC. The pharmacological potential was evaluated through clinically significant enzyme inhibition assays, thrombolytic, and antimicrobial activities. In silico molecular docking approach was applied to confirm the role of T. domingensis against the enzymes. The polyphenolic quantification revealed that the BFTD was comparatively rich in total phenolic and flavonoid contents (97.14 milligrams gallic acid equivalent (mg GAE/g) and 362.5 milligrams quercetin equivalent per gram of dry extract (mg QE/g DE), respectively), as compared to the CFTD. The GC-MS analysis of the CFTD and BFTD resulted in the tentative identification of 67 and 29 compounds, respectively, with the major components of fatty acids and essential oil. The oral toxicity test revealed the safety and biocompatibility of CFTD and BFTD. Both the fractions showed promising antioxidant activity. Tyrosinase was found as the major enzyme inhibited by BFTD (78.67%) and CFTD (68.09%), whereas the standard kojic acid showed 85.58% inhibition. The inhibition results of acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase by BFTD (71.65 and 60.79%, respectively) are higher than CFTD. Both the fractions were found active against various strains of bacteria. Furthermore, the molecular docking studies of the compounds showed a good docking score against all the docked enzymes among which deoxycaesaldekarin C was found with the highest binding affinities in comparison to the standard. The current study suggests that T. domingensis is nontoxic and can be a potential source of phytoconstituents with promising pharmacological potential.

Comprehensive Phytochemical Profiling, Biological Activities, and Molecular Docking Studies of Pleurospermum candollei: An Insight into Potential for Natural Products Development.

The purpose of this study was to find the biological propensities of the vegetable plant Pleurospermum candollei by investigating its phytochemical profile and biological activities. Phytochemical analysis was done by spectroscopic methods to investigate the amount of total polyphenols, and biological evaluation was done by the different antioxidant, enzyme inhibitory (tyrosinase, α-amylase, and α-glucosidase), thrombolytic, and antibacterial activities. The highest amount of total phenolic and flavonoid contents was observed in methanolic extract (240.69 ± 2.94 mg GAE/g and 167.59 ± 3.47 mg QE/g); the fractions showed comparatively less quantity (57.02 ± 1.31 to 144.02 ± 2.11 mg GAE/g, and 48.21 ± 0.75 to 96.58 ± 2.30 mg QE/g). The effect of these bioactive contents was also related to biological activities. GCMS analysis led to the identification of bioactive compounds with different biological effects from methanolic extract (antioxidant; 55.07%, antimicrobial; 56.41%), while the identified compounds from the n-hexane fraction with antioxidant properties constituted 67.86%, and those with antimicrobial effects constituted 82.95%; however, the synergetic effect of polyphenols may also have contributed to the highest value of biological activities of methanolic extract. Molecular docking was also performed to understand the relationship of identified secondary metabolites with enzyme-inhibitory activities. The thrombolytic activity was also significant (40.18 ± 1.80 to 57.15 ± 1.10 % clot lysis) in comparison with streptokinase (78.5 ± 1.53 to 82.34 ± 1.25% clot lysis). Methanolic extract also showed good activity against Gram-positive strains of bacteria, and the highest activity was observed against Bacillus subtilis. The findings of this study will improve our knowledge of phytochemistry, and biological activities of P. candollei, which seems to be a ray of hope to design formulations of natural products for the improvement of health and prevention of chronic diseases; however, further research may address the development of novel drugs for use in pharmaceuticals.

Efficacy of Phytochemicals Derived from Roots of Rondeletia odorata as Antioxidant, Antiulcer, Diuretic, Skin Brightening and Hemolytic Agents-A Comprehensive Biochemical and In Silico Study.

Roots of Rondeletia odorata are a rich source of phytochemicals with high antioxidant potential and thus may possess health benefits. This study used the LC-MS technique to identify phytoconstituents in R. odorata roots extract/fractions. Results revealed that n-butanol fraction and ethanolic extract contained total phenolic and flavonoid contents with values of 155.64 ± 0.66 mgGAE/g DE and 194.94 ± 0.98 mgQE/g DE, respectively. Significant potential of antioxidants was observed by DPPH, CUPRAC and FRAP methods while the ABTS method showed moderate antioxidant potential. Maximum % inhibition for urease, tyrosinase and carbonic anhydrase was shown by ethanolic extract (73.39 ± 1.11%), n-butanol soluble fraction (80.26 ± 1.59%) and ethyl acetate soluble fraction (76.50 ± 0.67%) which were comparable with thiourea (standard) (98.07 ± 0.74%), kojic acid (standard) (98.59 ± 0.92%) and acetazolamide (standard) (95.51 ± 1.29%), respectively, while all other extract/fractions showed moderate inhibition activity against these three enzymes. Hemolytic activity was also observed to range from 18.80 ± 0.42 to 3.48 ± 0.69% using the standard (triton X-100) method. In total, 28 and 20 compounds were identified tentatively by LC-MS analysis of ethanolic extract and n-butanol soluble fraction, respectively. Furthermore, molecular docking was undertaken for major compounds identified by LC-MS for determining binding affinity between enzymes (urease, tyrosinase and carbonic anhydrase) and ligands. It was concluded that active phytochemicals were present in roots of R. odorata with potential for multiple pharmacological applications and as a latent source of pharmaceutically important compounds. This should be further explored to isolate important constituents that could be used in treating different diseases.

Phytochemical Profiling, In Vitro Biological Activities, and In Silico Molecular Docking Studies of Dracaena reflexa.

Dracaena reflexa, a traditionally significant medicinal plant, has not been extensively explored before for its phytochemical and biological potential. The present study was conducted to evaluate the bioactive phytochemicals and in vitro biological activities of D. reflexa, and perform in silico molecular docking validation of D. reflexa. The bioactive phytochemicals were assessed by preliminary phytochemical testing, total bioactive contents, and GC-MS analysis. For biological evaluation, the antioxidant (DPPH, ABTS, CUPRAC, and ABTS), antibacterial, thrombolytic, and enzyme inhibition (tyrosinase and cholinesterase enzymes) potential were determined. The highest level of total phenolic contents (92.72 ± 0.79 mg GAE/g extract) was found in the n-butanol fraction while the maximum total flavonoid content (110 ± 0.83 mg QE/g extract) was observed in methanolic extract. The results showed that n-butanol fraction exhibited very significant tyrosinase inhibition activity (73.46 ± 0.80) and acetylcholinesterase inhibition activity (64.06 ± 2.65%) as compared to other fractions and comparable to the standard compounds (kojic acid and galantamine). The methanolic extract was considered to have moderate butyrylcholinesterase inhibition activity (50.97 ± 063) as compared to the standard compound galantamine (53.671 ± 0.97%). The GC-MS analysis of the n-hexane fraction resulted in the tentative identification of 120 bioactive phytochemicals. Furthermore, the major compounds as identified by GC-MS were analyzed using in silico molecular docking studies to determine the binding affinity between the ligands and the enzymes (tyrosinase, acetylcholinesterase, and butyrylcholinesterase enzymes). The results of this study suggest that Dracaena reflexa has unquestionable pharmaceutical importance and it should be further explored for the isolation of secondary metabolites that can be employed for the treatment of different diseases.