In silico and in vitro studies suggest anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory potential of Turbinaria ornata and Turbinaria decurrens

Inflammation, immunomodulation, and oxidative stress are central factors in various diseases that affect humans. Marine seaweeds, renowned for their bioactive compounds, offer a promising avenue for the discovery of compounds targeting these pathways. Herein, we investigate the chemical composition and pharmacological potential of extracts from Turbinaria ornata and Turbinaria decurrens , abundant seaweeds in Indonesian waters. Through multidisciplinary approaches including metabolomic profiling, molecular docking, network pharmacology analysis, and cytotoxicity assessments, we identified candidate bioactive compounds with predicted anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory activity and measurable cytotoxicity. Our findings reveal a diverse array of compounds, including alkanes, alcohols, cycloalkanes, sterols, phenols, and carotenoids, with potential health benefits. Network pharmacology analysis predicts genes and pathways associated with inflammatory diseases, underscoring the complexity of these pathways and potential targets for intervention. Molecular docking studies predict favorable interactions of compounds with key receptors implicated in inflammation and immunosuppression. CTD1 and CTD3 showed more favorable predicted binding affinities (lower docking ΔG values) than the reference compound S-ibuprofen for all investigated targets (TNF-α, EGFR, ESR1, Fyn, mTOR, and iNOS); docking scores do not, however, demonstrate receptor inhibition. The RAW264.7 cell line’s IC 50 results demonstrated the metabolites’ varying levels of toxicity; the greatest values were found on TOE and CTO3. Extracts and individual metabolites were associated with comparably lower levels of inflammation-related proteins (TNF-α, EGFR, ESR1, Fyn, mTOR, and iNOS) in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages at a single concentration, which is consistent with, but does not establish, modulation of the corresponding signaling pathways. These findings suggest the anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory potential of Turbinaria ornata and Turbinaria decurrens extracts and metabolites as candidates for further investigation, including dose–response, pathway-specific, and in vivo validation.