Multi-target action of Garcinia livingstonei extract and secondary metabolites against fatty acid synthase, α-glucosidase, and xanthine oxidase

Azza M Abdul-Rahman; Ahlam Elwekeel; Reem S Alruhaimi; Emadeldin M Kamel; Albandari Bin-Ammar; Ayman M Mahmoud; Abeer S Moawad; Mohamed A Zaki

doi:10.1016/j.jsps.2023.101762

Multi-target action of Garcinia livingstonei extract and secondary metabolites against fatty acid synthase, α-glucosidase, and xanthine oxidase

Saudi Pharm J. 2023 Oct;31(10):101762. doi: 10.1016/j.jsps.2023.101762. Epub 2023 Aug 25.

Authors

Azza M Abdul-Rahman¹, Ahlam Elwekeel¹, Reem S Alruhaimi², Emadeldin M Kamel³, Albandari Bin-Ammar⁴, Ayman M Mahmoud^{5

6}, Abeer S Moawad¹, Mohamed A Zaki¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Beni-Suef University, 62514, Beni-Suef, Egypt.
² Department of Biology, College of Science, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia.
³ Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Beni-Suef University, Beni-Suef 62514, Egypt.
⁴ Department of Clinical Nutrition, College of Applied Medical Sciences, University of Hail, Saudi Arabia.
⁵ Department of Life Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester M1 5GD, UK.
⁶ Physiology Division, Zoology Department, Faculty of Science, Beni-Suef University, Beni-Suef 62514, Egypt.

Abstract

Garcinia livingstonei is a traditional herbal medicine that showed beneficial health effects and bioactivities. Four compounds have been isolated from the plant leaves and were elucidated as lupeol, betulin, podocarpusflavone A, and amentoflavone. The inhibitory activities of G. livingstonei extract and isolated metabolites against fatty acid synthase (FAS), α-glucosidase, and xanthine oxidase (XO) were investigated in vitro. The affinity of the compounds toward the studied enzymes was investigated in silico. The plant extract inhibited FAS, α-glucosidase, and XO with IC₅₀ values of 26.34, 67.88, and 33.05 µg/mL, respectively. Among the isolated metabolites, betulin exhibited the most inhibitory activity against α-glucosidase and XO with IC₅₀ values of 38.96 and 30.94 µg/mL, respectively. Podocarpusflavone A and betulin were the most potent inhibitors of FAS with IC₅₀ values of 24.08 and 27.96 µg/mL, respectively. Computational studies corroborated these results highlighting the interactions between metabolites and the enzymes. In conclusion, G. livingstonei and its constituents possess the potential to modulate enzymes involved in metabolism and oxidative stress.

Keywords: Alpha-glucosidase; Fatty acid synthase; Garcinia livingstonei; Xanthine oxidase.