Unveiling anti-aspergillosis and anti-mucormycosis potential of fruit extracts from naturally growing Chamaedorea seifrizii: Chemical profiling, in silico studies, pharmacokinetics and wet lab validation

Abstract

Chamaedorea seifrizii is a bamboo plant that is mainly used for its air-purifying properties and ornamental value. Due to the absence of reports on its phytochemical constitutes, this study was aimed at chemical profiling, and evaluation of its in vitro anti-aspergillosis and anti-mucormycosis potential of acetone extracts of fruits of Chamaedorea seifrizii accompanied by in silico analysis. In this study, the chemical profile of Chamaedorea seifrizii fruit acetone extract (CFE) was determined, and major component hinokione was molecularly docked against fungal enzymes involved in the cell wall synthesis, specifically lanosterol 14α-demethylase (LD), chitin synthase(CS) and 1,3-beta-glucan synthase (GS), followed by with in vitro validation. Bioactive compounds in fruit extracts were studied using a gas chromatography-flame ionization detector (GC-FID). The CB-dock 2 tool was used for molecular docking. Using the poisoned food approach, antifungal activity was assessed against three test pathogens. Since hinokione was found to be a significant component of CFE by GC-FID, it was utilized for docking analysis. According to docking study, hinokione binds actively to the fungal enzymes LD, CS and GS. According to docking experiments, ligand hinokione interacted via H-bonds with the fungal enzymes 3 with vina score ranged from -9.0 to -10.6 kcal/mol. Hinokione complied with the LIPINSKY criteria. According to wet lab studies, CFE mitigated the growth of test pathogens. Chamaedorea seifrizii may be used in this study to produce new herbal remedies to cure for a range of illnesses including aspergillosis and mucormycosis. However, it needs further validation by in vivo and clinical studies.