Affiliations 

  • 1 Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy and Alternative Medicine, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Bahawalpur 63100, Pakistan
  • 2 School of Pharmacy, Monash University Malaysia, Jalan Lagoon Selatan, Bandar Sunway 47500, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
  • 3 Department of Chemistry, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Bahawalpur 63100, Pakistan
  • 4 Department of Biology, Science Faculty, Selcuk University, 42130 Konya, Turkey
  • 5 Chemistry Department, College of Education, Salahaddin University-Erbil, Erbil 44001, Iraq
  • 6 Department of Chemistry, Township Campus, University of Education Lahore, Lahore 54000, Pakistan
  • 7 Department for Management of Science and Technology Development, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City 70000, Vietnam
Biomolecules, 2021 01 04;11(1).
PMID: 33406643 DOI: 10.3390/biom11010053

Abstract

Heliotropium is one of the most important plant genera to have conventional folklore importance, and hence is a potential source of bioactive compounds. Thus, the present study was designed to explore the therapeutic potential of Heliotropium crispum Desf., a relatively under-explored medicinal plant species. Methanolic extracts prepared from a whole plant of H. crispum were studied for phytochemical composition and possible in vitro and in silico biological properties. Antioxidant potential was assessed via six different assays, and enzyme inhibition potential against key clinical enzymes involved in neurodegenerative diseases (acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE)), diabetes (α-amylase and α-glucosidase), and skin problems (tyrosinase) was assayed. Phytochemical composition was established via determination of the total bioactive contents and reverse phase ultra-high performance liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (RP-UHPLC-MS) analysis. Chemical profiling revealed the tentative presence of 50 secondary metabolites. The plant extract exhibited significant inhibition against AChE and BChE enzymes, with values of 3.80 and 3.44 mg GALAE/g extract, respectively. Further, the extract displayed considerable free radical scavenging activity against DPPH and ABTS radicals, with potential values of 43.19 and 41.80 mg TE/g extract, respectively. In addition, the selected compounds were then docked against the tested enzymes, which have shown high inhibition affinity. To conclude, H. crispum was found to harbor bioactive compounds and showed potent biological activities which could be further explored for potential uses in nutraceutical and pharmaceutical industries, particularly as a neuroprotective agent.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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