Joel O Onoja^1-4 , Joseph C Unamba¹, Catherine C Eleje¹, Mathieu JM Tjegbe³

¹Department of Pharmacognosy and Environmental Medicine, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Nigeria Nsukka; ²Institute of Drug-Herbal Medicine-Excipient Research and Development, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria; ³Center for Drug Discovery, University of Buea, Buea, Cameroon; ⁴Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.

For correspondence:-  Joel Onoja   Email: joel.onoja@unn.edu.ng   Tel:+234-806 2872 407

Received: 18 November 2024        Accepted: 23 May 2025        Published: 31 May 2025

Citation: Onoja JO, Unamba JC, Eleje CC, Tjegbe MJ. Inhibitory effect of Siphonochilus aethiopicus (Schweinf.) B.L. Burtt on prostaglandin/leukotrienes synthesis, and in silico analysis of HPLC-identified compounds. Trop J Pharm Res 2025; 24(5):719-730 doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/tjpr.v24i5.10

© 2025 The authors.
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Abstract

Purpose: To investigate the lipoxygenase (LOX) and cyclooxygenase (COX) inhibitory effects of Siphonochilus aethiopicus (Schweinf) B.L. Burtt (Zingiberaceae) rhizome, and to undertake in silico studies of identified compounds.

Methods: The ground rhizome powder of S. aethiopicus was extracted sequentially using n-hexane, ethyl acetate and methanol. Inhibitory effects on cyclooxygenase 2 (Cox-2) and lipoxygenase (LOX) were determined using a Cox-2 test kit and spectrophotometric analysis, respectively, with Ibuprofen and quercetin as standards. High-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection (HPLC-DAD) was utilized for qualitative analysis and identification of bioactive compounds. Molecular docking was carried out using Maestro software. Ligands were docked with PDB ID: 4PH9 and 1JNQ for Cox-2 (Mus musculus) and LOX-3 (Glycine max), respectively.

Results: Ethyl acetate extract showed the highest Cox-2 inhibitory activity (66.62 ± 6.50 %, IC50 = 0.241 ± 0.02 mg/mL) and LOX inhibitory activity (65.87 ± 7.75 %, IC50 = 0.190 ± 0.00 mg/mL) at 1 mg/mL. Polyphenolic compounds identified via HPLC-DAD were tannic acid, gallic acid, naringenin/caffeic acid, and quercetin. Molecular docking revealed hydrogen bonding and π-π interactions between the ligands and active sites of enzymes.

Conclusion: S. aethiopicus inhibits Cox-2 and LOX enzymes. The presence of quercetin and caffeic acid in S. aethiopicus rhizome highlights its potential as a therapeutic agent in inflammatory diseases and warrants further investigation for drug development

 

Keywords: Siphonochilus aethiopicus, Anti-inflammatory, Lipoxygenase, Cyclooxygenase, Zingiberaceae, HPLC-DAD, Molecular docking

Impact Factor
Thompson Reuters (ISI): 0.6 (2023)
H-5 index (Google Scholar): 49 (2023)