Chemical profiling and biological activities of Dipterygium glaucum Decne.: An in-vivo, in-vitro and in-silico evaluation

Abstract

Dipterygium glaucum Decne. is a desert plant with medicinal significance used traditionally in treating bronchial asthma. This study investigated the phytochemical composition, toxicity, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic and anti-Alzheimer potential of the ethanolic extract of D. glaucum (DGEE). The chemical composition showed that the extract is rich in TPC (119.56 ± 1.23 GAE/g) and TFC (53.29 ± 3.21 QE/g) with 31 compounds detected in GC-MS analysis. The acute toxicity study revealed the safety of the extract with no significant difference in physical, biochemical, hematological parameters and the weight of the vital organs at 300 mg/kg B.W. of day-old chicks. The anti-inflammatory evaluation presented a significant (p < 0.001) anti-inflammatory effect compared to the standard dexamethasone. Similarly, in in vitro antidiabetic evaluation, the extract showed inhibitory potential against α-glucosidase with an IC50 value of (18.24 ± 0.05 µg/ mL) and anti-Alzheimer potential by inhibiting acetylcholinesterase with an IC50 value of (39.65 ± 0.08 µg/ mL). The in vitro antioxidant capacity determination of DGEE presented strong activity with the highest (47.27 ± 0.07 mg TE/g) in the DPPH method. The in-silico studies of the selected compounds from the GC-MS profile showed good molecular docking interaction against α-glucosidase and acetylcholinesterase. Similarly, the in silico computational approach was applied to study the interaction of the compounds with antioxidant enzymes and nitric oxide synthase. Overall, the results revealed that the extract is safe for use and it exerts pharmacological effects through the antioxidant-based mechanisms and warrants further research on its toxicity and in vivo pharmacological profile.