Phytochemical Identification of Methanolic Extract of Leaves Hernandia peltata Meisn and Evaluation of Anti-Inflammatory Activity In silico

Aim: To identify the phytochemicals present in the methanolic extract of Hernandia peltata Meisn and to assess their potential anti-inflammatory activity using in silico methods.

Place and Duration of Study: Department of Veterinary Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Mannuthy, Thrissur, between February 2024 and March 2024.

Methodology: The chemical profiling of the methanolic leaf extract of Hernandia peltata Meisn. was performed using GC-MS analysis. In silico molecular docking studies were carried out using AutoDock4 to evaluate the binding affinities of these phytochemicals to the active sites of four key proteins involved in anti-inflammatory activity: COX-1, COX-2, 5-LOX, and NOS. Furthermore, the pharmacokinetic properties of the active compounds were analysed using the admetSAR software.

Results: Among the compounds identified through GC-MS analysis, 11 demonstrated promising binding scores. Predictions from admetSAR indicated that these phytoconstituents have favourable absorption, distribution, and metabolism profiles. However, toxicity assessments revealed that most compounds exhibit mutagenic properties at higher doses, and some may have potential carcinogenic effects.

Conclusion: The study effectively identified a variety of bioactive phytochemicals in the methanolic extract of Hernandia peltata and demonstrated their potential anti-inflammatory properties through in silico analysis. These results underscore the therapeutic potential of Hernandia peltata as a source of natural anti-inflammatory agents, encouraging further in vitro and in vivo research to validate these findings.