Antioxidant Activity of the Prunus mahaleb Seed Oil Extracts Using n-Hexane and Petroleum Ether Solvents: In Silico and In Vitro Studies

Abstract

Prunus mahaleb L., also known as white mahaleb, and native to the Kurdistan region of Iraq, has significant nutraceutical and therapeutic ingredients. The seeds are rich in conjugated fatty acids with small quantities of cyanogenic glycosides, coumarin derivatives, and flavonoids. The contents of the seeds were extracted with the Soxhlet apparatus using n-hexane and petroleum ether solvents, separately. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was used to recognize the chemical composition of the compounds. The radical scavenging activity was performed for the total extracts from n-hexane and petroleum ether solvents using 2,2-diphenyl-1 picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay and compared with quercetin as a positive control. Furthermore, molecular docking was performed for the identified compounds against five enzymes that have main roles in intracellular oxidation. Afterwards, drug-like properties and bioactivity predictions were applied for all compounds using Molinspiration software. The results showed four phthalate derivatives, six saturated fatty acids (SFAs), five monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs), and three polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). The n-hexane extract showed competitive antioxidant activity with quercetin and the in-silico studies suggested a notable antioxidant activity of the seed oil contents with apparent drug-likeness properties. Further studies are required to separate the extracts, then perform in vitro antioxidant activity on the compounds.