Network pharmacology-based prediction and experimental validation of Mimosa pudica for Alzheimer's disease

Abstract

Mimosa pudica is a traditional folk medicine and has been reported to improve the memory in experimentally induced amnesia. However, present literature lacks the data for M. pudica compoundprotein interaction with targets related to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) including cytotoxic profile. Hence, the present study aims to evaluate in silico and in vitro antioxidant, cytotoxicity, and acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity and network evaluation of M. pudica with targets related to Alzheimer’s disease. The whole plant of M. pudica was collected, authenticated and hydroalcoholic extract/fractions were prepared. The antioxidant activity of the hydroalcoholic extract was evaluated by DPPH֗ free radical scavenging assay (in vitro) and xanthine oxidase binding affinity (in silico). Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors from M. pudica were identified from an open-source database and analyzed using a network among compounds, proteins, and modulated pathways. Docking was performed using autodock4 and AChE inhibitory activity of extract/fraction(s) was carried using the in vitro method. The cytotoxicity of M. pudica was assessed using CLC-Pred (in silico) and MTT assay (in vitro). Quercetin-3-O-β-Dxylopyranoside and myricetin-3-O-β-D-xylopyranoside showed the highest binding affinity with xanthine oxidase. AChE was majorly targeted by multiple phytoconstituents of M. pudica. Quercetin showed the highest binding affinity with AChE. Luteolin interacted with maximum proteins involved in the pathogenesis of AD. The compounds were predicted to be more cytotoxic in cancer cells compared to normal. The phytoconstituents from M. pudica were found to be safe in normal cells, and were potent antioxidants. Flavonoids showed highest binding affinity with xanthine oxidase and fraction rich in flavonoids showed the highest AChE inhibitory capacity.