In Silico Molecular Docking, ADMET, and In vitro Studies Highlight the Anti-Diabetic Therapeutic Efficacy of Hygrophila Auriculata

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is rising alarmingly, necessitating effective natural therapies to complement conventional treatments. Traditionally used in Ayurveda, Hygrophila auriculata exhibits multifaceted benefits, including hepatoprotection, antibacterial, antitumor and anti-diabetic properties, making it a promising natural remedy for diabetes.

Dried and powdered Hygrophila auriculata underwent extraction and the resulting methanolic extract was utilized for analysis of total phenol and flavonoid content, 2,2-Diphenyl-1 picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and superoxide anion scavenging assays, α-amylase and α-glucosidase enzyme inhibition assays. Molecular docking studies were also carried out. The drug-likeliness of the phytoconstituents present in H. auriculata were examined, and ADMET properties were predicted using various web servers.

Hygrophila auriculata exhibited significant phenol (10.11±0.0025 mg GAE/g sample) and flavonoid content (102.05±0.0053 mg QE/g sample) and potent antioxidant activity, evidenced by DPPH radical scavenging assay (IC50 = 61.69 ± 0.133 µg/mL) and superoxide anion scavenging as say (IC50 = 34.91 ± 0.115 µg/mL). The extract also showed enhanced α-amylase inhibition (IC50 = 35.72 ± 0.121 µg/mL) and robust α-glucosidase inhibition (IC50 = 64.42 ± 0.107 µg/mL). Using the phytocompounds, a thorough molecular docking study against target proteins linked to diabetes mellitus revealed that apigenin-7-O-glucuronide and cosmosiin were the most effective phytochemicals.

This study determined the antidiabetic potency of Hygrophila auriculata. Additionally, it assessed the in silico pharmacokinetic properties, drug-likeness, and toxicity profiles using SwissADME, ProTox-II, ADMETlab 2.0, and pkCSM web tools.

The results suggest that Hygrophila auriculata possesses significant anti-diabetic properties, supporting its potential as a promising future anti-diabetic drug.