Ethnopharmacological study of flavonoid compounds in Magnolia champaca (L.) Baill. ex Pierre as anti-inflammatory agents by molecular docking

Abstract

Context: Magnolia champaca (L.) Baill. ex Pierre has traditionally been used by the culture to prevent and cure the inflammatory disease. Aims: To determine the benefit of M. champaca in the local community, especially in the treatment of tuberculosis, and investigate the potency of the flavonoid content of M. champaca as an anti-inflammatory agent through in silico analysis. Methods: An ethnobotanical survey was conducted by structured interviews and responses in the Pamekasan district. The identification of flavonoid in selected plant was carried out from literature. Then, quercetin, (-)-epicatechin, and kaempferol were docked with protein targets including cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), mitogen-activated protein kinases (p38 MAPK), nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), and phosphoinositide 3 kinases (PI3k). The ability of complex compounds was considered dependent on energy binding and the ability to bind native ligand to proteins. Results: M. champaca exhibited the highest RFI value, indicated that this plant mainly used to treat tuberculosis symptoms in the local community. The compounds of quercetin and (-)-epicatechin can only be bound to a native ligand COX-2, NAG. The compounds quercetin, rutin, kaempferol, and (-)-epicatechin can then be bound to both the native proteins NF-κB and PI3K. Nevertheless, native ligand-protein p38 MAP-kinases cannot be bound by complex compounds like quercetin, rutin, kaempferol, and (-)-epicatechin. Conclusions: The research offers proof for considering the flavonoid compound in M. champaca as a beneficial ligand complex throughout the treatment and prevention of inflammatory diseases. Further in vitro and in vivo studies could prove its therapeutic potential.