Seeds, leaves and roots of Thapsia garganica as a source of new potent lipases inhibitors: in vitro and in silico studies.

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE\nLipase inhibitors have aroused a great interest because they could help in the therapy of many diseases but, unfortunately, only a few drugs are currently available on the market. Therefore, the aim of this work was to evaluate for the first time the lipase inhibition effect of Thapsia garganica extracts from seeds, leaves and roots.\n\n\nMETHODS\nPolyphenols and flavonoids contents were determined using spectrophotometric method. Inhibitory activity of ethyl acetate extracts from seeds, leaves and roots of T. garganica against Candida rugosa lipase were determined. To uncover the active constituents responsible for this anti-lipase activity, further investigations were performed by employing theoretical docking simulations, using AutoDock Vina program to discuss the nature of interactions and the inhibition mechanism by major bioactive compounds synthesized by this plant.\n\n\nRESULTS\nSeeds, leaves and roots extracts of T. garganica showed appreciable contents of polyphenols and flavonoids which is most in seeds extract with 2.90±0.02 mg GAE/gdw and 1.53±0.05 mg QE/gdw, respectively. Hence, their inhibitory activities against Candida rugosa lipase were determined as IC50 of 1.19 mg / ml, 1.96 mg /ml and 1.87 mg/ml, respectively. Docking simulations shown that nortribolid and tribolid are best inhibitors for both lipases (Candida rugosa and human pancreatic lipases).\n\n\nCONCLUSION\nTesting the anti-lipase activity of the ethyl acetate extracts of T. garganica revealed a potent lipase inhibition activity, which suggest the use of these molecules as anti-obesity drugs.