Unveiling the Potential Biological and Chemical Mechanism of Pergularia tomentosa Extracts by Liquid Chromatography-Electrospray Ionisation-High-Resolution Tandem Mass Spectrometry, In-Vitro and In-Vivo Pharmacological Studies.

Abstract

By means of this investigation, we were able to ascertain some hitherto undiscovered biological activities of Pergularia tomentosa. In this study, the chemical composition of P. tomentosa extracts (aqueous PtAE and hydroalcoholic PtHE) was investigated by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionisation-high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-HR-MS/MS) analysis. The extracts were evaluated for various biological features in vitro, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, urease inhibitory, and sun protection factor (SPF) capabilities. To assess the antioxidant activity of PtAE and PtHE, which was expressed as 50% inhibition and absorbance at 0.5 values, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH^•) and 2,2'-azino-bis(3 ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS^•+) scavenging, ferric reducing power, and silver nanoparticle-based assays were performed. The in vitro anti-inflammatory impact was investigated to assess the inhibitory effect of PtAE and PtHE on albumin denaturation. Also, we established, for the first time, P. tomentosa's urease inhibitory capacity and SPF. In order to assess the in vivo biological features of PtAE and PtHE, experiments were conducted to evaluate their acute toxicity, anti-inflammatory effects and sedative properties, which are determined for the first time. The outcomes revealed that these extracts are prolific in flavonoids and cardenolides, among other secondary metabolites. Some of these compounds are identified for the first time in the P. tomentosa plant. The findings demonstrated that PtHE was potent against DPPH^● (244.43 ± 1.44 µg/mL), ABTS^●+ (18.30 ± 2.11 µg/mL), and PtAE was strongly active against ferric reducing power (4.56 ± 0.80 µg/mL) and SNP (44.81 ± 1.13 µg/mL). The anti-inflammatory potential of PtAE and PtHE is significant, and their inhibition percentages (61.57% for PtAE and 43.77% for PtHE) are comparable to the reference ibuprofen. All treated mice did not exhibit any signs of intoxication after receiving a single dose of 2000 mg/kg of PtAE and PtHE oral alternatively. PtAE and PtHE have potent anti-inflammatory with inhibition percentages of 77.25% and 43.00%, respectively. Emphasising the sedative effect of both P. tomentosa extracts, the oral administration of the extracts produced a decrease in movement of 49.77% for the PtAE and 60.00% for the PtHE. These highlights prove the ability of PtAE and PtHE to suppress the formation of paw oedema and lower spontaneous locomotor activity in treated mice. The data gathered suggest that P. tomentosa has potential use in the pharmaceutical industries as an alternative therapy for different physiological disorders and diseases and as a therapeutic agent.