Evaluation of In Vitro and In Silico Anti-Alzheimer Potential of Nonpolar Extracts and Essential Oil from Mentha piperita

Abstract

The anticholinesterase and antioxidant activities with chemical composition and molecular docking of essential oil and nonpolar extracts of Mentha piperita were evaluated using enzymatic and chemical methods. Molecular docking tools were used to explain the interaction of the major chemical constituents with the enzymes. GC/MS analyses revealed that the main compounds in M. piperita essential oil were l-menthone (43.601%) followed by pulegone (21.610%), linolenic acid (25.628%), and l-menthone (10.957%), representing the major compounds of the petroleum ether extract. Imidazoquinoline (7.767%) and 17-N-acetyl-oroidine (5.363%) were the major constituents of the chloroform extract. Linolenic acid (19.397%) and l-menthone (6.336%) were the most abundant compounds in the hexane extract. The M. piperita essential oil and nonpolar extracts showed moderate antioxidant activity. The essential oil showed the most promising anticholinesterase activity with IC50 = 10.66 ± 0.12 µg/mL and IC50 = 16.33 ± 0.03 µg/mL against acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), respectively, close to galantamine in AChE and more active in BChE, followed by the interesting activity in the petroleum ether extract with IC50 = 23.42 ± 3.06 µg/mL in AChE and IC50 = 62.00 ± 3.22 µg/mL in BChE. The docking experiments showed that among the seven major identified compounds, N-acetyl-17-oroidine showed the highest binding score (63.01 in AChE and 63.68 in BChE). This compound was found to bind the catalytic and peripheral sites, resulting in more potent inhibitory activity than galantamine, which only binds to the catalytic site. These findings suggested the possible use of M. piperita essential oil and nonpolar extracts as a potential source of alternative natural anti-Alzheimer compounds.

Phytochemical analysis by LC MS/ MS and in vitro antioxidant activity of the Algerian endemic plant Dianthus sylvestris subsp. aristidis (Batt.) Greuter & Burdet

“…In our study, the antioxidant activity of different extracts was determined by using six different assays including: DPPH scavenging, ABTS cation radical, Ferrous ions chelating, Phenanthroline, Reducing power and Silver nanoparticle. Knowing that the difference between these assays is in the mode of action and the reaction mechanism; two mechanisms are available for the action of the antioxidants: the hydrogen-atom transfer (HAT) and the single-electron transfer (SET) (Srief et al, 2023). The findings of the antioxidant activities are shown in Table 3, expressed in terms of IC 50 and A 0,5 and compared to antioxidant standards (BHT, BHA, Trolox, Ascorbic acid, and EDTA).…”