UPLC/MSn analysis of Bougainvillea glabra leaves and investigation of antioxidant activities and enzyme inhibitory properties

Abstract Bougainvillea glabra is a well-known and well-documented ornamental plant belonging to family Nyctaginaceae, always planted for its beautifully colored flowers. The current study was performed for profiling the metabolites of B. glabra leaf extract. Further, the leaf extract was evaluated u...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Heba A. S. El-Nashar, Omayma A. Eldahshan, Mahmoud A. El Hassab, Gokhan Zengin, Esraa A. Elhawary
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-08-01
Series:Scientific Reports
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-11851-9
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849235494636879872
author Heba A. S. El-Nashar
Omayma A. Eldahshan
Mahmoud A. El Hassab
Gokhan Zengin
Esraa A. Elhawary
author_facet Heba A. S. El-Nashar
Omayma A. Eldahshan
Mahmoud A. El Hassab
Gokhan Zengin
Esraa A. Elhawary
author_sort Heba A. S. El-Nashar
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Bougainvillea glabra is a well-known and well-documented ornamental plant belonging to family Nyctaginaceae, always planted for its beautifully colored flowers. The current study was performed for profiling the metabolites of B. glabra leaf extract. Further, the leaf extract was evaluated using the total phenolic and total flavonoid assays and profiling using UPLC/MSn for the leaf extract’s secondary metabolites. The leaf extract was also subjected to several antioxidant assays, viz. DPPH, ABTS, CUPRAC, FRAP, metal chelating, and phosphomolybdenum tests, as well as enzyme inhibition assays such as α-amylase, α-glucosidase, acetylcholinesterase (AChE), and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE). The results showed that the total phenolic and flavonoid contents were 27.68 mg GAE/g and 31.76 mg RE/g, respectively. Besides, twenty-one metabolites were tentatively identified and quantified, where flavonoids and phenolic acids constituted the most abundant classes of compounds. The molecular docking experimentss showed that the most abundant components, namely rhamnocitrin-O-rutinoside, sagerinic acid, tri-O-caffeoyl-shikimic acid, and chlorogenic acid, had the best scores when docked in the vicinity of the selected enzyme targets. The extract recorded a potentially powerful antioxidant activity, compared to the used standards, while it showed a good inhibitory effect against AChE (2.40 mg GALAE/g) and BChE (1.95 mg GALAE/g). The tyrosinase-inhibiting effect was 48.23 mg CAE/g. The amylase and glucosidase inhibitory effects were 0.30 mmol ACAE/g and 0.03 mmol ACAE/g, respectively. Thus, this study suggests that B. glabra may not only act as an ornamental plant, but also it may be a promising source for effective phytochemicals that act as antioxidants and enzyme inhibitors, which may play a role in reversing the aging process and age-related ailments like diabetes.
format Article
id doaj-art-e07dd4a86c1f4541802245c17f60c14f
institution Kabale University
issn 2045-2322
language English
publishDate 2025-08-01
publisher Nature Portfolio
record_format Article
series Scientific Reports
spelling doaj-art-e07dd4a86c1f4541802245c17f60c14f2025-08-20T04:02:45ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-08-0115111310.1038/s41598-025-11851-9UPLC/MSn analysis of Bougainvillea glabra leaves and investigation of antioxidant activities and enzyme inhibitory propertiesHeba A. S. El-Nashar0Omayma A. Eldahshan1Mahmoud A. El Hassab2Gokhan Zengin3Esraa A. Elhawary4Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ain Shams UniversityDepartment of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ain Shams UniversityDepartment of Medicinal Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, King Salman International University (KSIU)Deparment of Biology, Science Faculty, Selcuk UniversityDepartment of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ain Shams UniversityAbstract Bougainvillea glabra is a well-known and well-documented ornamental plant belonging to family Nyctaginaceae, always planted for its beautifully colored flowers. The current study was performed for profiling the metabolites of B. glabra leaf extract. Further, the leaf extract was evaluated using the total phenolic and total flavonoid assays and profiling using UPLC/MSn for the leaf extract’s secondary metabolites. The leaf extract was also subjected to several antioxidant assays, viz. DPPH, ABTS, CUPRAC, FRAP, metal chelating, and phosphomolybdenum tests, as well as enzyme inhibition assays such as α-amylase, α-glucosidase, acetylcholinesterase (AChE), and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE). The results showed that the total phenolic and flavonoid contents were 27.68 mg GAE/g and 31.76 mg RE/g, respectively. Besides, twenty-one metabolites were tentatively identified and quantified, where flavonoids and phenolic acids constituted the most abundant classes of compounds. The molecular docking experimentss showed that the most abundant components, namely rhamnocitrin-O-rutinoside, sagerinic acid, tri-O-caffeoyl-shikimic acid, and chlorogenic acid, had the best scores when docked in the vicinity of the selected enzyme targets. The extract recorded a potentially powerful antioxidant activity, compared to the used standards, while it showed a good inhibitory effect against AChE (2.40 mg GALAE/g) and BChE (1.95 mg GALAE/g). The tyrosinase-inhibiting effect was 48.23 mg CAE/g. The amylase and glucosidase inhibitory effects were 0.30 mmol ACAE/g and 0.03 mmol ACAE/g, respectively. Thus, this study suggests that B. glabra may not only act as an ornamental plant, but also it may be a promising source for effective phytochemicals that act as antioxidants and enzyme inhibitors, which may play a role in reversing the aging process and age-related ailments like diabetes.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-11851-9Bougainvillea glabraNyctaginaceaeMetabolitesUPLC/MSnAntioxidantEnzyme Inhibition
spellingShingle Heba A. S. El-Nashar
Omayma A. Eldahshan
Mahmoud A. El Hassab
Gokhan Zengin
Esraa A. Elhawary
UPLC/MSn analysis of Bougainvillea glabra leaves and investigation of antioxidant activities and enzyme inhibitory properties
Scientific Reports
Bougainvillea glabra
Nyctaginaceae
Metabolites
UPLC/MSn
Antioxidant
Enzyme Inhibition
title UPLC/MSn analysis of Bougainvillea glabra leaves and investigation of antioxidant activities and enzyme inhibitory properties
title_full UPLC/MSn analysis of Bougainvillea glabra leaves and investigation of antioxidant activities and enzyme inhibitory properties
title_fullStr UPLC/MSn analysis of Bougainvillea glabra leaves and investigation of antioxidant activities and enzyme inhibitory properties
title_full_unstemmed UPLC/MSn analysis of Bougainvillea glabra leaves and investigation of antioxidant activities and enzyme inhibitory properties
title_short UPLC/MSn analysis of Bougainvillea glabra leaves and investigation of antioxidant activities and enzyme inhibitory properties
title_sort uplc msn analysis of bougainvillea glabra leaves and investigation of antioxidant activities and enzyme inhibitory properties
topic Bougainvillea glabra
Nyctaginaceae
Metabolites
UPLC/MSn
Antioxidant
Enzyme Inhibition
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-11851-9
work_keys_str_mv AT hebaaselnashar uplcmsnanalysisofbougainvilleaglabraleavesandinvestigationofantioxidantactivitiesandenzymeinhibitoryproperties
AT omaymaaeldahshan uplcmsnanalysisofbougainvilleaglabraleavesandinvestigationofantioxidantactivitiesandenzymeinhibitoryproperties
AT mahmoudaelhassab uplcmsnanalysisofbougainvilleaglabraleavesandinvestigationofantioxidantactivitiesandenzymeinhibitoryproperties
AT gokhanzengin uplcmsnanalysisofbougainvilleaglabraleavesandinvestigationofantioxidantactivitiesandenzymeinhibitoryproperties
AT esraaaelhawary uplcmsnanalysisofbougainvilleaglabraleavesandinvestigationofantioxidantactivitiesandenzymeinhibitoryproperties