Molecular Docking and Study of the Anti-inflammatory Effect of Triterpene and Diarylheptanoid Isolated from Pellacalyx axillaris.

Objective: Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are a group of drugs widely used around the world for their analgesic, antipyretic and anti-inflammatory effect, but still have many limitations due to their side effects. So, these lead to the development of a new approach to search for a new product from natural plants that have similar therapeutic effects without common side effects like gastrointestinal ulcers.

Methods: The anti-inflammatory effect of β-amyrin palmitate (1) as triterpene and 1,7-bis (4- hydroxyphenyl) hept-4-en-3-one (2) as diarylheptanoid, isolated from Pellacalyx axillaris was studied by molecular docking to find the probability of binding position and binding strength of new compounds with particular Prostaglandin G/H synthase 2 (PDB ID: 1CX2). In vivo acute anti-inflammatory activity of the isolated compounds (1 and 2) was evaluated in rats using the egg-white induced edema model of inflammation in a dose correspondent to 3 mg/Kg of Diclofenac Sodium.

Results: The tested isolated compounds showed a high activity to inhibit the swelling in paw edema and their anti-inflammatory effect began shortly after the injection of the egg white and continued to the end of the experiment in comparison to the reference and control.

Conclusion: The isolated compounds show a rapid onset of action and a very potent effect, this may be related to their suitable acidity and may have perfect hydrophilic -lipophilic balance. This is the first study of anti-inflammatory effect using Paw edema model and molecular docking.