Antioxidant activity guided isolation of a coumarin compound from Ipomoea pes-caprea (Convolvulaceae) leaves acetone extract and its biological and molecular docking studies

Abstract

Abstract Introduction Several modern drugs have been derived from plants, which contain numerous biologically active metabolites. Ipomoea pes-caprea (F: Convolvulaceae) is used in traditional medicine to treat several ailments. The present study aimed to investigate the pharmacological properties and the biological applications of Ipomoea pes-caprea. Methods The phytochemical screening analysis, estimation of phytoconstituents, antioxidant, and antibacterial activities were conducted. Based on the results of preliminary studies the bioactive extract was subjected to GC–MS analysis, and activity guided isolation of bioactive compound obtained. The isolated active principle was subjected to various spectral analyses such as: UV, FT-IR, LC–MS and 1H, 13C, DEPT, HMBC, and HSQC NMR to elucidate the structure and analyze its biological potential. Results The results of phytochemical screening indicated the presence of various phytochemicals in Ipomoea pes-caprea extracts. The acetone extract possesses a significantly high amount of metabolites with antibacterial as well as antioxidant capacity, with low IC50 values. Results of acetone extract GC–MS analysis revealed that the presence of several bioactive compounds where 2-phenyl-4H-chromen-4-one was predominant. Antioxidant activity guided isolation of acetone extract resulted in the isolation of a coumarin compound (5,7-dihydroxy-4-phenyl-2H-chromen-2-one) and the structure was confirmed using various spectral studies. The isolated 5,7-dihydroxy-4-phenyl-2H-chromen-2-one exhibited significant antioxidant, antimicrobial and antiproliferative activities. In addition, the molecular docking study revealed that the isolated coumarin is a good inhibitor of the angiopoietin-2. Conclusions The present study concludes that the isolated compound (5,7-dihydroxy-4-phenyl-2H-chromen-2-one) may harbor significant health benefits and it may serve as a good molecular template in pharmacology for the development of new drugs.