Structural, functional, molecular, and biological evaluation of novel triterpenoids isolated from Helichrysum stoechas (L.) Moench. Collected from Mediterranean Sea bank: Misurata- Libya

Helichrysum stoechas (L.) Moench (Family Compositae) is a medicinal herb endowed with several pharmacological activities. Ethanolic extract of the aerial parts of the plant was used for the isolation of lignoceric acid (HS-02), lanost-5- en-30-ol-26-oic acid (HS-03), and lanost-5-en26-oic acid-30-olyl palmitate (HS-04). All molecules were screened for anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities at 5 and 10 mg/kg body weight doses, and the TEST program assessed their toxicity. The molecular interaction profile with numerous anti-inflammatory drug targets was investigated by molecular docking. Compounds HS-03 and HS-04 showed a significant reduction in paw volume compared to the control group challenged with carrageenan in the rats, and prolongation of the paw licking/jumping and reduction in the number of writhes was noted after the injection of acetic acid in mice. In a hot plate test, all compounds showed significant pain inhibition. These findings might aid in the development of anti-inflammatory and anti-analgesic therapies.(c) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of King Saud University. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).