Work

In vitro anti-inflammatory and in silico anti-viral assessment of phytoconstituents in polyherbal Ayurvedic formulation ‘Arogyamrita Kwath’

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Arogyamrita Kwath (AMK) is a polyherbal decoction comprising ten medicinal plants, viz ., Albizia lebbeck , Andrographis paniculata , Tinospora cordifolia , Adhatoda vasica , Solanum xanthocarpum , Curcuma longa , Glycyrrhiza glabra , Terminalia bellirica , Withania somnifera and Trachyspermum ammi . The plants of the AMK formulation are traditionally used for the treatment of inflammation and respiratory ailments, but no scientific evidence has been reported so far for this formulation. To evaluate anti-inflammatory activity of AMK formulation in vitro and its fractions and to predict in silico anti-viral activity of identified potential phytoconstituents. The MTT cell cytotoxicity assay, nitric oxide (NO) inhibition assay and cytokines assay were carried out at concentrations 100 and 200 μg/mL. The phytoconstituents were identified by UPLC-PDA and UPLC-HRMS analyses. For pharmacoinformatics study molecular docking and molecular dynamics methods were used. The study revealed that AMK significantly inhibited NO in comparison to dexamethasone (100 μg/mL) and pro-inflammatory cytokines in RAW264.7 cells. The three fractions, n -hexane, EtOAc and n -BuOH prepared from the AMK formulation were non-cytotoxic against RAW264.7 murine macrophage cells during MTT cytotoxicity assay and showed satisfactory results during cytokines assay. Ethyl acetate fraction contains active phytoconstituents in appreciable quantities. 16 phytoconstituents have been identified by UPLC-HRMS analysis in the formulation and four phytocompounds were quantified by UPLC-PDA. Molecular dynamics study helped in identifying two macromolecular targets (viral replicase and the membrane protein), which are relatively more important. In the present study, anti-inflammatory activity of AMK was evaluated and the claimed anti-viral property was re-confirmed by molecular modelling in this work. The results clearly established that AMK showed remarkable anti-inflammatory and anti-viral activities. • AMK formulation is a decoction used for the treatment of respiratory ailments. • Sixteen compounds were identified by UPLC-HRMS analysis in the AMK formulation. • AMK formulation significantly lowered NF-kB and TNF-α levels in concentration-dependent manner. • Quercetin and vasicine, present in AMK showed significant binding affinity against seven viral targets. • MD simulations revealed that viral replicase and membrane protein were found to be the preferred targets for AMK formulation.

Source: Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine

DOI: 10.1016/j.jaim.2024.101076