Anti-arthritic activity of Cleome gynandra; an in vitro and in silico analysis

Arthritis, a major problem these days, demands a safer alternative without side effects and low toxicity, as the currently available medicines lead to long-term problems. Thus, this study aims to identify the anti-arthritic activity of an herbal plant, Cleome gynandra (CG), through in vitro and in silico studies. The Soxhlet extract of CG leaves was yielded and subjected to qualitative, quantitative and gas chromatography mass spectroscopy (GCMS) analysis. Based on the GCMS results, the compounds were selected and docked against the important arthritis-causing proteins, signal transducer and activator of transcription 1- alpha/beta (STAT 1) and hexameric human IL6/IL-6 alpha receptor. Further, the cytotoxicity, anti-inflammatory and wound healing assays were performed to estimate the anti-arthritic activities. The results revealed that CG contains potential phytochemicals such as alkaloids (1.25 g) and terpenoids (2 g). GCMS results revealed the presence of Phenol, 2,4-bis (1,1-dimethylethyl), phosphite (3:1) and 1,4-benzenedicarboxylic acid, bis (2-ethylhexyl) ester with the highest peak areas of 39.09 % and 13.77 %, respectively. Hence, these compounds, Phenol, 2,4-bis (1,1-dimethylethyl), phosphite (3:1) and 1,4benzenedicarboxylic acid, bis (2-ethylhexyl) ester, were docked against the STAT1 and IL-6 proteins, respectively. They exhibited the binding affinities of -4.7 kcal/mole and -5.3 kcal/mole, respectively.