Insightful Valorization of Biological Activities of Flax Seed (Linum usitatissimum) through Experimental and Computer Aided Mechanisms

Abstract

Flax also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, Linum usitatissimum, in the family Linaceae. The current study used haloperidol-induced catalepsy and reserpine antagonism to investigate in vivo anti- Parkinson's activity and in silico approaches like docking studies (schrodinger software), Ramchandran plot (procheck), ADME and biological activity score using (molinspiration) online software. The n-hexane extract of Linum usitatissinum (HELU) (flax seeds) exhibited various phytochemical constituents like carbohydrates, lignans, alkaloids, phenolic compounds, flavonoids, fatty acids, coumarin derivatives and sterols. Pharmacological tests were studied at 200 mg/kg bd.wt and 400 mg/kg bd.wt, using in vivo behavioural effects like muscular rigidity, tremors, akinesia, grip strength, and locomotory activity. The experiment was designed by giving haloperidol to induce catalepsy and Reserpne to induce Parkinson’s disease-like symptoms. The increased cataleptic scores were significantly decreased by HELU (200 and 400 mg/kg bd.wt., p.o.) in reserpine antagonism model. Docking studies for natural chemicals against PDB ID: 4I6B, 7JOZ, 4XUD, 4OYX were conducted to better understand the ligand-binding affinity of the extract's active ingredients. The results revealed that D-xylose, D-arabinose, L-rhamnose, L-fucose, hesperidin, herbacetin, β-carboline, isoquinoline, ferulic acid, eicosapentanoic acid, docosahexaenoic acid, beta sitosterol, niacin, aesculetin and standard drug levodopa, carbidopa had shown highest glide scores with all the selected proteins which indicate a stronger receptor-ligand binding affinity. Our findings revealed that Linum usitatissimum n-hexane extract has strong anti Parkinson's action.