In vivo and in silico evaluation of analgesic and hypoglycemic activities of Amaranthus blitum L.

Abstract

Amaranthus blitum L. is a worldwide weed that originated in the Mediterranean region and now grows from the tropics to temperate zones, from Asian to southern African countries. It is commonly consumed as a cooked vegetable item. Amaranthus blitum L., on the other hand, has never been extensively investigated for its medicinal properties like analgesic and hypoglycemic potentials. Hence, using an in vivo and in silico method, assess the analgesic and hypoglycemic efficacy of Amaranthus blitum L. methanolic extract and its key phytoconstituents is the primary aim of this study. The acetic acid-induced writhing test and the hot plate test protocol were employed to assess the in vivo analgesic effectiveness of Amaranthus blitum L. methanolic extract (ABME) in Swiss albino mice of either sex. In a Stretozotocin (STZ) induced anti-diabetic test, the hypoglycemic activity was investigated. Admet-SAR web server and PyMOL (Version 1.7.4) software package were used to perform in silico activity of the isolated compounds and ADME analysis. The research employed methanolic extracts (ME) at dosages of 250 mg/kg and 500 mg/kg to assess analgesic and hypoglycemic effects. ME (250 mg/kg) and ME (500 mg/kg) showed substantial outcomes in the acetic acid-induced writhing test, with 39.48 ± 5.66% and 51.20 ± 3.78%, respectively. ME at a dosage of 500 mg/kg caused the highest latency time increase of 16.92 ± 0.94s in the hot plate test. In the context of in silico assessment, eleven chemicals fit Lipinski's five-condition criteria. The best docking score was for glycidyl oleate which is 6.3 kcal/mol against cyclooxygenase-2 enzyme (PDB ID: 5KIR) among these safe chemicals, which was practically identical to Celecoxib's (8.5 kcal/mol). In streptozotocin induced hypoglycemic test, significant decrease in plasma glucose level was observed for 500 mg/kg of methanolic extract. In silico study showed best docking score of 2,2-di‑tert-butylphenol with − 6.4 kcal/mol against sulfonylurea protein (PDB ID: 6JB3), compared to glibenclamide (− 9.4 kcal/mol). Our research demonstrates that phytoconstituents of Amaranthus blitum L. are very potential analgesic and hypoglycemic candidates. These compounds might be employed to develop an effective analgesic and anti-diabetic medication from a natural resource using advanced technologies.