Impact of Bougainvillea glabra on antioxidant activity by  in vitro  and  in silico  investigation of the insulin signaling pathway

Phytochemical profiling of Bougainvillea glabra methanolic extract identified bioactive compounds with therapeutic potential.
The extract exhibited strong antioxidant activity, achieving 77.57% DPPH radical scavenging at 50 µL.
Significant antibacterial activity was observed against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas fluorescens.
Molecular docking revealed high binding affinity of key phytocompounds to insulin signaling protein GLUT-4.

KEYWORDS

diabetes mellitus

Escherichia coli

Pseudomonas fluorescens

Staphylococcus aureus

Healthcare

Insulin

Public Health

TOPICS

ABSTRACT

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic metabolic disorder characterized by persistent hyperglycemia, often resulting from insulin resistance and oxidative stress. With the limitations of current pharmacological treatments, there is growing interest in identifying plant-derived compounds that can modulate key components of the insulin signaling pathway. In this study, the methanolic leaf extract of Bougainvillea glabra was evaluated for its antioxidant, antimicrobial, and antidiabetic potential through both in vitro and in silico approaches. Phytochemical profiling using Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) revealed the presence of bioactive compounds, including 2-propenoic acid, 2-ethylhexyl ester and 3,4-dihydro-4-(1,3-dioxolan-2-yl)-5,7-dimethoxy-1(2H)-benzopyran-2-one. The antioxidant potential of the extract was assessed using the DPPH radical scavenging assay, which showed a concentration-dependent activity with a maximum inhibition of 77.57% at 50 µL. Antibacterial activity was demonstrated against several microbial strains, notably Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas fluorescens, with enhanced zones of inhibition observed at higher extract concentrations. Molecular docking studies were carried out targeting insulin signaling proteins GLUT-4, IRS-1, and SREBP-1c. Among these, GLUT-4 showed the strongest binding affinity with the key phytocompounds, with docking scores of –8.7 and –7.9 kcal/mol, along with multiple hydrogen bond interactions. Pharmacokinetic and toxicity predictions using SwissADME and pkCSM indicated high gastrointestinal absorption, low mutagenicity, and favorable drug-likeness profiles for most compounds, supporting their therapeutic potential. In conclusion, Bougainvillea glabra demonstrated significant antioxidant, antimicrobial, and antidiabetic properties. The high binding affinity of its phytocompounds to GLUT-4 and their favorable ADMET profiles highlight their promise as candidates for plant-based drug development in the management of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors thank DST-FIST, Government of India, for funding infrastructure and instrumentation at ACIC, St. Joseph’s College (Autonomous), Tiruchirappalli–620 002.

FUNDING

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

The authors declare that they have no known financial, personal, academic, or other relationships that could inappropriately influence, or be perceived to influence, the work reported in this manuscript. All authors confirm that there are no competing interests to declare.

PEER REVIEW INFORMATION

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REFERENCES (43)

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