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Phytoconstituents from Urtica dioica (stinging nettle) of Sikkim Himalaya and their molecular docking interactions revealed their nutraceutical potential as α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibitors

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Abstract

In this study, antioxidative methanolic leaf extract (MeOH-SIS) of Urtica dioica was characterized for anti-diabetic activity. The extract was purified on a column to yield seven homogenous fractions (F1–F7) which were further determined for DPPH radical scavenging activity. MeOH-SIS and the fraction F1 (selected based on % yield and activity) were evaluated for their in vitro α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibitory activity. The results showed inhibition of both enzymes in a dose dependent manner and F1 exhibited relatively higher inhibition than its mother extract MeOH-SIS. GC–MS analyses of both the extracts identified 24 major compounds among which 10 were previously described as bioactive compounds. Among all, 5 compounds demonstrated to have quality pharmacokinetics profiles and were examined for possible binding affinity against the active sites of α-amylase and α-glucosidase using molecular docking. The binding interaction of 2R-acetoxymethyl-1,3,3-trimethyl-4 T-(3-methyl-2-buten-1-yl)-1 T-cyclohexanol within the active sites of the target receptors was found to be significant among others, and can be developed as a potential inhibitor of α-amylase and α-glucosidase. The leaf extract can be utilized to develop food additive for the control and management of oxidative stress induced diabetes.

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All datasets generated for this study are included in the article/supplementary material.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge Institute of Bioresource and Sustainable Development and Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology, Govt. of India for the funding for conducting the research work.

Funding

The research work was supported by Department of Biotechnology, Govt. of India.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Bioresources and Sustainable Development, Regional Centre, Gangtok, Sikkim, India

    Swati Sharma, Srichandan Padhi, Rounak Chourasia & Dinabandhu Sahoo

  2. School of Biotechnology, Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India

    Swati Sharma & Srinivas Patnaik

  3. Gauhati Biotech Park, Gauhati, 781031, India

    Sourav Dey

  4. Department of Botany, University of Delhi, New Delhi, India

    Dinabandhu Sahoo

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  1. Swati Sharma
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  2. Srichandan Padhi
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  4. Sourav Dey
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  5. Srinivas Patnaik
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  6. Dinabandhu Sahoo
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Contributions

SS-Conducted the experiments, performed the data analyses and Writing-original draft; SP-performed the data analyses, Writing—original draft, review & editing; RC-performed the data analyses, Writing—original draft; SD-performed the data analyses; SP-Conceptualization, and Writing—review & editing. DS-Conceptualization, Project administration, review & editing. The final manuscript was read and approved by all contributors.

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Correspondence to Dinabandhu Sahoo.

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Sharma, S., Padhi, S., Chourasia, R. et al. Phytoconstituents from Urtica dioica (stinging nettle) of Sikkim Himalaya and their molecular docking interactions revealed their nutraceutical potential as α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibitors. J Food Sci Technol 60, 2649–2658 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13197-023-05789-x

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