Multiple pharmacological approaches on Fibigia eriocarpa extracts by in vitro and computational assays

The ethyl acetate, methanolic, and water extracts of Fibigia eriocarpa were assessed for a panoply of bioactivities. Total phenolic and flavonoid content were quantified as well as individual phenolic compounds by HPLC-DAD. The in-vitro antioxidant and enzyme (acetylcholinesterase (AChE), butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), tyrosinase, α-amylase, and α-glucosidase) inhibitory potential of the extracts were evaluated. In silico molecular docking was used to investigate possible interaction between dominant compounds and selected enzymes. Vanillin (303 µg/g extract), apigenin (270 µg/g extract), and kaempferol (180 µg/g extract) were the main compounds in the ethyl acetate extract, while the methanolic extract was characterised by the presence of vanilin, rutin, and apigenin (616, 616 and 252 µg/g extract, respectively). (+)-Catechin (1422 µg/g extract) was the main compound in the water extracts. The ethyl acetate extract was found to be a superior source of antioxidant compounds and enzyme inhibitors against above-mentioned enzymes. Docking studies revealed that p-hydroxybenzoic and (+)-catechin have the best scores for tyrosinase, while kaempferol and apigenin showed the best binding-pose for α-glucosidase, AChE, and BChE. Results amassed herein is the first report on the phytochemical and biological attributes of Fibigia eriocarpa, which tend to validate the pharmacological uses of this plant as an alternative medicine.