Anti-Inflammatory, Thrombolytic and Hair-Growth Promoting Activity of the <i>n</i>-Hexane Fraction of the Methanol Extract of <i>Leea indica</i> Leaves

• Main Authors: Shahenur Alam Sakib, Abu Montakim Tareq, Ameerul Islam, Ahmed Rakib, Mohammad Nazmul Islam, Mohammad Arafat Uddin, Md. Masudur Rahman, Veronique Seidel, Talha Bin Emran
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-05-01
• Series: Plants
• Subjects: anti-inflammatory activity; thrombolytic activity; hair growth-promoting activity; <i>Leea indica</i>
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/10/6/1081

The anti-inflammatory, thrombolytic, and hair growth-promoting activity of the <i>n</i>-hexane fraction from the methanol extract of <i>Leea indica</i> (NFLI) leaves was investigated. NFLI showed significant inhibition of hemolysis and protein denaturation, and exhibited a concentration-dependent thrombolytic activity. When applied topically to mice at concentrations of 10, 1, 0.1%, NFLI demonstrated a significant increase in average hair length (<i>p</i> < 0.001) compared with untreated animals. NFLI (1% concentration) exhibited the highest percentage of hair regrowth on day 7, 14 and 21 (81.24, 65.60, and 62.5%, respectively). An in silico study was further conducted to predict the binding affinity of phytochemicals previously reported in <i>L. indica</i> towards PGD₂ synthase (PDB ID: 2VD1), an enzyme that catalyses the isomerisation of prostaglandin H₂ to PGD₂ which is involved in hair loss. Phthalic acid, farnesol, <i>n</i>-tricosane, <i>n</i>-tetracosane, and <i>n</i>-heptacosane showed the best ligand efficiencies towards PGD₂ synthase and their intermolecular interactions were visualised using BIOVIA Discovery Studio Visualizer. Our results indicate that <i>L. indica</i> could represent a promising natural alternative to tackle alopecia.