Comparative metabolic profiling of Cordia myxa leaves and fruits based on UPLC-ESI/MS-MS analysis and investigation of antioxidant activities and enzyme inhibitory properties

Abstract Cordia myxa, Assyrian plum, is an edible deciduous plant belonging to the family Boraginaceae and exhibited different traditional and pharmacological activities, including wound healing, emollient, expectorant, hepatoprotective, immune-modulator, and hypoglycemic. Our study aimed to investi...

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Main Authors: Heba A. S. El-Nashar, Gokhan Zengin, Abdalrahman Tarek, Omayma A. Eldahshan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-06-01
Series:Scientific Reports
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-04015-2
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author Heba A. S. El-Nashar
Gokhan Zengin
Abdalrahman Tarek
Omayma A. Eldahshan
author_facet Heba A. S. El-Nashar
Gokhan Zengin
Abdalrahman Tarek
Omayma A. Eldahshan
author_sort Heba A. S. El-Nashar
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Cordia myxa, Assyrian plum, is an edible deciduous plant belonging to the family Boraginaceae and exhibited different traditional and pharmacological activities, including wound healing, emollient, expectorant, hepatoprotective, immune-modulator, and hypoglycemic. Our study aimed to investigate the metabolic profiling of C. myxa leaves and fruits growing in Egypt using the Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (UPLC-MSn) technique. Alongside, we determined its antioxidant properties and enzyme inhibitory activity against acetylcholinesterase (AChE), butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), tyrosinase, α-glucosidase, and α-amylase. UPLC-MSn analysis revealed the identification of 24 and 19 compounds in the leaf and fruit extracts, respectively. The identified compounds cover different phytochemical classes like phenolic acids, flavonoids, phenolic glycosides, lignans, anthocyanins and fatty acids, flavonoids being the predominant one. The leaf extract showed stronger antioxidant properties (DPPH: 100.80 mg TE/g; ABTS: 134.43 mg TE/g, CUPRAC: 290.87 mg TE/g; FRAP: 205.78 mg TE/g), compared to the fruit extract (DPPH: 22.45 mg TE/g; ABTS: 91.74 mg TE/g; CUPRAC: 41.39 mgTE/g; FRAP: 33.63 mg TE/g). In contrast to other antioxidant assays, the metal-chelating ability of the fruit extract (20.59 mg EDTAE/g) was greater than that of the leaf extract (9.94 mg EDTAE/g). The AChE inhibitory effect of fruit extract (2.59 mg GALAE/g) was higher than that of leaf extract (2.51 mg GALAE/g), but the leaf extract (1.68 mg GALAE/g) showed a stronger BChE inhibitory effect than the fruit extract (1.25 mg GALAE/g). Further, the fruit extract showed almost 2.5 times greater tyrosinase inhibitory activity than the leaf extract. The α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibitory activities of the leaf extract were superior to those of the fruit extract. The molecular docking studies showed high docking affinities between three compounds, quercetin, kaempferol, and caffeic acid, with all targeted enzymes. As a conclusion, C. myxa signifies an excellent natural supply of treasured bioactive constituents with promising antioxidant and enzyme inhibitory effects. Further phytochemical studies should be performed to isolate the responsible compounds and investigate their mechanism of action.
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spelling doaj-art-81cc1a61fe074c90b5eace2f71c49bb42025-08-20T03:25:18ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-06-0115112010.1038/s41598-025-04015-2Comparative metabolic profiling of Cordia myxa leaves and fruits based on UPLC-ESI/MS-MS analysis and investigation of antioxidant activities and enzyme inhibitory propertiesHeba A. S. El-Nashar0Gokhan Zengin1Abdalrahman Tarek2Omayma A. Eldahshan3Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ain Shams UniversityDepartment of Biology, Science Faculty, Selcuk UniversityDepartment of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ain Shams UniversityDepartment of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ain Shams UniversityAbstract Cordia myxa, Assyrian plum, is an edible deciduous plant belonging to the family Boraginaceae and exhibited different traditional and pharmacological activities, including wound healing, emollient, expectorant, hepatoprotective, immune-modulator, and hypoglycemic. Our study aimed to investigate the metabolic profiling of C. myxa leaves and fruits growing in Egypt using the Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (UPLC-MSn) technique. Alongside, we determined its antioxidant properties and enzyme inhibitory activity against acetylcholinesterase (AChE), butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), tyrosinase, α-glucosidase, and α-amylase. UPLC-MSn analysis revealed the identification of 24 and 19 compounds in the leaf and fruit extracts, respectively. The identified compounds cover different phytochemical classes like phenolic acids, flavonoids, phenolic glycosides, lignans, anthocyanins and fatty acids, flavonoids being the predominant one. The leaf extract showed stronger antioxidant properties (DPPH: 100.80 mg TE/g; ABTS: 134.43 mg TE/g, CUPRAC: 290.87 mg TE/g; FRAP: 205.78 mg TE/g), compared to the fruit extract (DPPH: 22.45 mg TE/g; ABTS: 91.74 mg TE/g; CUPRAC: 41.39 mgTE/g; FRAP: 33.63 mg TE/g). In contrast to other antioxidant assays, the metal-chelating ability of the fruit extract (20.59 mg EDTAE/g) was greater than that of the leaf extract (9.94 mg EDTAE/g). The AChE inhibitory effect of fruit extract (2.59 mg GALAE/g) was higher than that of leaf extract (2.51 mg GALAE/g), but the leaf extract (1.68 mg GALAE/g) showed a stronger BChE inhibitory effect than the fruit extract (1.25 mg GALAE/g). Further, the fruit extract showed almost 2.5 times greater tyrosinase inhibitory activity than the leaf extract. The α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibitory activities of the leaf extract were superior to those of the fruit extract. The molecular docking studies showed high docking affinities between three compounds, quercetin, kaempferol, and caffeic acid, with all targeted enzymes. As a conclusion, C. myxa signifies an excellent natural supply of treasured bioactive constituents with promising antioxidant and enzyme inhibitory effects. Further phytochemical studies should be performed to isolate the responsible compounds and investigate their mechanism of action.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-04015-2AntioxidantCordia myxaEnzyme InhibitionUPLC-ESI/MS-MSTyrosinaseAmylase
spellingShingle Heba A. S. El-Nashar
Gokhan Zengin
Abdalrahman Tarek
Omayma A. Eldahshan
Comparative metabolic profiling of Cordia myxa leaves and fruits based on UPLC-ESI/MS-MS analysis and investigation of antioxidant activities and enzyme inhibitory properties
Scientific Reports
Antioxidant
Cordia myxa
Enzyme Inhibition
UPLC-ESI/MS-MS
Tyrosinase
Amylase
title Comparative metabolic profiling of Cordia myxa leaves and fruits based on UPLC-ESI/MS-MS analysis and investigation of antioxidant activities and enzyme inhibitory properties
title_full Comparative metabolic profiling of Cordia myxa leaves and fruits based on UPLC-ESI/MS-MS analysis and investigation of antioxidant activities and enzyme inhibitory properties
title_fullStr Comparative metabolic profiling of Cordia myxa leaves and fruits based on UPLC-ESI/MS-MS analysis and investigation of antioxidant activities and enzyme inhibitory properties
title_full_unstemmed Comparative metabolic profiling of Cordia myxa leaves and fruits based on UPLC-ESI/MS-MS analysis and investigation of antioxidant activities and enzyme inhibitory properties
title_short Comparative metabolic profiling of Cordia myxa leaves and fruits based on UPLC-ESI/MS-MS analysis and investigation of antioxidant activities and enzyme inhibitory properties
title_sort comparative metabolic profiling of cordia myxa leaves and fruits based on uplc esi ms ms analysis and investigation of antioxidant activities and enzyme inhibitory properties
topic Antioxidant
Cordia myxa
Enzyme Inhibition
UPLC-ESI/MS-MS
Tyrosinase
Amylase
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-04015-2
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