In vitro and in silico assessment of anti-cholinesterase potential of Ricinus communis L. (Euphorbiaceae): furnished with network pharmacology

Searching for cholinesterase (ChE) inhibitory small molecules will open a new horizon to design eco-friendly antiinsectants and anti-Alzheimer’s disease agents since we encounter to drug resistance against available drugs/toxins. Here, the ChE inhibitory activity of methyl alcohol extracts of Ricinus communis L. (RC) has been investigated in vitro and its mechanism was mined computationally. The beans of RC showed anti-ChE properties for acetyl-ChE (AChE) of 65.33% and for butyryl-ChE (BChE) of 49.00%. The methyl alcohol extract of RC leaves showed lesser inhibitory effects of 27.67% for AChE than 5.67% for BChE. In silico findings showed that among phytochemicals found in RC, stigmasterol oleate, fucosterol, trachylobane, lupeol, casbene, and alpha-amyrin have a trustful binding affinity (BA) of − 12.2, − 11.9, − 10.6, − 10.4, − 10.2, and − 9.9 kcal/mol with AChE, respectively, while beta-tocopherol, beyerene and kaurene have same negative BA − 9.8 kcal/mol. Alpha-tocopherol and gamma-tocopherol showed identical BA of − 9.6 kcal/mol. In this regard, delta-tocopherol and beta-amyrin showed BA of − 9.5 (kcal/mol), therefore all phytochemicals may be considered putative binders of AChE. In this line, alpha- and beta-amyrin, lupeol, stigmasterol oleate, fucosterol, casbene, beyerene, and catechin found in RC showed greater BA of − 11.3, − 11, − 10.7, − 9.6, − 9.6, − 9.5, − 9.3, and − 9 kcal/mol while alpha-tocopherol, kaurene, and trachylobane have identical BA at − 8.8 kcal/mol, therefore, they may inhibit BChE. In sum, RC can be considered as a natural factory of anti-ChE lead-like molecules that was gifted by Mesopotamian medicine and Kurdish ethnomedicine to the modern biopharmaceuticals.