Phytochemical Profiling, GC-MS Analysis and α-Amylase Inhibitory Potential of Ethanolic Extract of Cocos nucifera Linn. Endocarp

Background: Drugs with post-prandial action constitute one of the main courses of treatments for diabetes. Objective: In the present investigation, we have explored the α-amylase inhibitory potential of ethanolic extract of Cocos nucifera endocarp. Methods: DNS based assay was done to assess the α-amylase inhibition potential of ethanolic extract. Phytochemical screening and GC-MS analysis were done in order to assess the chemical profiling of extract. In silico docking studies were done using VLife MDS 4.6 software and the probable molecules, predicted after GC-MS analysis, were docked with the co-crystallized (acarbose) tracked active site and rest all cavities of porcine pancreatic α-amylase (1OSE). ADMET analysis was done using StarDrop 6.4, Derek Nexus and P450 Modules from Optibrium Ltd. and LHASA Ltd. Results: DNS based α-amylase assay indicated that the IC50 value of extract lies in the range of 63- 126 μg/ml and at higher doses, i.e. above 250 μg/ml, it has better α-amylase inhibition than the standard drug, acarbose. Phytochemical screening indicated that ethanolic extract is rich in alkaloids, tannins, flavonoids, saponins, triterpenes, glycosides, carbohydrates, terpenoids, quinones and lactones. Further, GC-MS analysis (where Similarity Index was > 90) predicted that the probable phytoconstituents present in the ethanolic extract are myristic acid, syringaldehyde, eugenol, vanillin, 2,4-di-tert-butylphenol, lauric acid, palmitic acid methyl ester and γ-sitosterol. γ-Sitosterol showed the strong affinity towards the active site which was tracked by a co-crystallized ligand along with cavity 1 and 2 while significant interactions were observed in case of co-crystallized tracked active site as well as cavity 4 of 1OSE. Ethanolic extract of C. nucifera has no hemolytic effect. Conclusion: Its ability to effectively inhibit α-amylase may be attributed to the presence of the above probable molecules, which will be explored further.