Evaluation of Mollugo oppositifolia Linn. as cholinesterase and β-secretase enzymes inhibitor

Bhaskar Das; Pardeep K Bhardwaj; Nanaocha Sharma; Arnab Sarkar; Pallab Kanti Haldar; Pulok K Mukherjee

doi:10.3389/fphar.2022.990926

Evaluation of Mollugo oppositifolia Linn. as cholinesterase and β-secretase enzymes inhibitor

Front Pharmacol. 2023 Jan 4:13:990926. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2022.990926. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Bhaskar Das^{1

2}, Pardeep K Bhardwaj², Nanaocha Sharma², Arnab Sarkar³, Pallab Kanti Haldar¹, Pulok K Mukherjee²

Affiliations

¹ School of Natural Product Studies, Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India.
² Institute of Bioresources and Sustainable Development, Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, Imphal, India.
³ Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India.

Abstract

Mollugo oppositifolia Linn. is traditionally used in neurological complications. The study aimed to investigate in-vitro neuroprotective effect of the plant extracts through testing against acetylcholinesterase (AChE), butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), and β-secretase linked to Alzheimer's disease (AD). To understand the safety aspects, the extracts were tested for CYP450 isozymes and human hepatocellular carcinoma cell (HepG2) inhibitory potential. The heavy metal contents were estimated using atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). Further, the antioxidant capacities as well as total phenolic content and total flavonoid content (TFC) were measured spectrophotometrically. UPLC-QTOF-MS/MS analysis was employed to identify phytometabolites present in the extract. The interactions of the ligands with the target proteins (AChE, BChE, and BACE-1) were studied using AutoDockTools 1.5.6. The results showed that M. oppositifolia extract has more selectivity towards BChE (IC₅₀ = 278.23 ± 1.89 μg/ml) as compared to AChE (IC₅₀ = 322.87 ± 2.05 μg/ml). The IC₅₀ value against β-secretase was 173.93 μg/ml. The extract showed a CC₅₀ value of 965.45 ± 3.07 μg/ml against HepG2 cells and the AAS analysis showed traces of lead 0.02 ± 0.001 which was found to be within the WHO prescribed limits. Moreover, the IC₅₀ values against CYP3A4 (477.03 ± 2.01 μg/ml) and CYP2D6 (249.65 ± 2.46 μg/ml) isozymes justify the safety aspects of the extract. The in silico molecular docking analysis of the target enzymes showed that the compound menthoside was found to be the most stable and showed a good docking score among all the identified metabolites. Keeping in mind the multi-targeted drug approach, the present findings suggested that M. oppositifolia extract have anti-Alzheimer's potential.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; Mollugo oppositifolia Linn.; herb-drug interaction; metabolite profiling and identification; molecular docking; safety evaluation.