<i>In silico</i> and <i>in vivo</i> anti-stress potential of <i>Stachytarpheta cayennensis</i> (Verbenaceae) in mice

Background: Stachytarpheta cayennensis is locally used as an antistress agent but no scientific rationale for its use. Hence, this study evaluated the antistress potential of ethanol leaf extract of Stachytarpheta cayennensis (ELSC) in mice. Methods: The stress induced anxiety was assessed using elevated plus maze following acute restraint stress in mice. The in silico studies of previously reported compounds from Stachytarpheta cayennensis (S. cayennensis) were also carried out. Results and discussion: There was significant (p<0.001) increase in anxiety status of stressed control mice compared to the unstressed control suggesting stress induction. However, ELSC stressed at 125 and 250 mg/kg and diazepam stressed control significantly (p<0.001) reduced the anxiety indices of mice compared to the stressed control group suggesting the reversal of stress-induced anxiety in mice. The results of in silico studies revealed betulinic acid was the most favourable compound in terms of pharmacokinetics, toxicity profile and binding affinity. The post docking analysis showed that betulinic acid and the positive antistress drug (diazepam) interacted with amino acid residues of the target receptor protein active pockets. Moreso, betulinic acid has a stronger binding affinity (-7.8Kcal/Mol) compared to diazepam (-6.9 Kcal/Mol), suggesting that betulinic acid may be a more effective antistress agent than diazepam. Conclusion: This study therefore, concluded that betulinic acid may at least in part be responsible for the observed antistress effect of Stachytarpheta cayennensis. However, further studies may be carried out on the antistress potential of betulinic acid.