Identification of petunidin from Chrysobalanus orbicularis Hook. F. (Chrysobalanaceae) as a potential antidiabetic agent: HPLC profiling and in silico validation

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a metabolic condition characterized by chronic hyperglycemia caused by insulin secretion and action deficiencies. Type 2 DM results from impaired insulin secretion by β cells of the pancreas and unresponsive signals between insulin-target tissues and insulin. Most drugs used in treating DM have one or more negative side effects and are primarily focused on lowering blood glucose levels rather than addressing the underlying mechanisms that cause DM. Therefore, developing new drugs to address these underlying causes is a priority. This study seeks to explore the antidiabetic roles of phytochemicals from Chrysobalanus orbicularis Hook. f. (Chrysobalanaceae) using in silico techniques to identify a novel regimen for DM. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis of C. orbicularis identified four bioactive compounds (sapogenin, delphinidin, cyanidin, and petunidin). To screen and find acceptable potential hit compound(s), these compounds were subjected to molecular docking to decipher their interactions with some proteins identified in the literature as being involved in the pathophysiology of DM (dipeptidyl peptidase IV, alpha-amylase, glucagon-like peptide−1 receptor, alpha-glucosidase, poly[ADP-ribose] polymerase 1, and G-protein coupled bile acid receptor 1). Petunidin had the best interaction with most of the proteins based on the precision docking score and MM-PBSA analysis. More importantly, parameters for discovering drugs for biotherapeutic candidates, viz., distribution, absorption, metabolism, toxicity, and excretion, were calculated for petunidin. Our findings suggest that petunidin could be a promising new therapeutic target for treating DM. The study explores antidiabetic compounds from Chrysobalanus orbicularis using in silico methods to target underlying disease mechanisms. Four bioactive compounds were identified using HPLC and tested against key diabetes-related proteins via molecular docking. Petunidin showed the strongest protein interactions and favorable drug parameters, indicating therapeutic potential for diabetes treatment.