Phytochemical screening, biological evaluation, and molecular docking studies of aerial parts of Trigonella hamosa (branched Fenugreek)

Abstract

Trigonella hamosa (Genus: Trigonella; Family: Fabaceae), also known as branched Fenugreek, is a medicinally important plant traditionally employed for the treatment of common ailments. This study aimed at the evaluation of the chemical composition and biological profile of T. hamosa. The hydro-methanolic extract of T. hamosa (METH) was prepared through maceration, and subjected to solvent–solvent fractionation to obtain n-hexane fraction (HFTH), chloroform fraction (CFTH) and n-butanol fraction of T. hamosa (BFTH). Chemical profiling was carried out through preliminary phytochemical screening and determination of total phenolic (TFC) and total flavonoid contents (TFC) and GC–MS analysis. In biological profiling, the extract and fractions were analyzed for in vitro antioxidant, antidiabetic, antibacterial, antiviral and thrombolytic activities. The preliminary phytochemical screening revealed the presence of various primary and secondary metabolites in extract and fractions of T. hamosa, polyphenolic quantification of METH showed highest TPC (139.32 ± 2.07 mg GAE/g D.E.) and TFC (61.31 ± 3.12 mg QE/g D.E). Similarly, a total of 22 compounds were tentatively identified in the GC–MS analysis of HFTH. The highest antioxidant activity was observed for HFTH in the CUPRAC and DPPH assays followed by METH which presented maximum results in CUPRAC assay. In vitro antidiabetic assay of HFTH showed significant alpha-amylase inhibition potential (70.13%) followed by CFTH (53.42 %). In the anti-thrombolytic assay, maximum results were observed for HFTH (60.99 %) followed by METH (45.24 %). The comparative bioactive fraction was subjected to antibacterial assessment which presented a concentration-dependent increase in antibacterial activity against various strains; Escherichia coli with a zone of Inhibition (16 mm), Bacillus subtilis (15 mm), Staphylococcus aureus (15 mm), Bacillus pumilus (14 mm). Similarly, HFTH exhibited strong antiviral potential against all the tested viral strains; avian influenza A H9, avian infectious bronchitis virus IBV, and Newcastle disease virus NDV with strong hemagglutination titers 2, 0, and 2 respectively. Furthermore, the phytoconstituents identification by GC–MS was further analyzed by subjecting to in-silico molecular docking analysis for determination of interaction between identified phytoconstituents and α-amylase enzyme. This study highlighted the antioxidant, antimicrobial, and antidiabetic potential of aerial parts of Trigonella hamosa that could be further explored for the selection of leads which may contribute to novel drug development.