Antidiabetic Activity of Chemical Constituents in Elaeocarpus Tectorius Fruits – An In Silico Study

Diabetes is a metabolic disorder with an increasing global prevalence and incidence. The drugs that are used to treat diabetes are often associated with side effects and adverse reactions. Plants are considered a high esteemed source of medicine since ancient times and could be used as an alternative source for the treatment of diabetes. The present study aims to explore the phytochemical constituents and the antidiabetic potential of Elaeocarpus tectorius fruits using Gas-chromatography- mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis and molecular docking studies. The ethanolic extracts of Elaeocarpus tectorius fruits were analysed to determine the total phenol and flavonoid contents and then subjected to GC-MS analysis to identify the bioactive compounds. The selected bioactive compounds were then docked to some therapeutic targets involved in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes using Autodock 4.2.6. The drug-likeness and toxicity of the ligands were obtained from SwissADME, Protox-II and admetSAR online server tools. The GC-MS analysis revealed the presence of 28 compounds in the ethanolic extracts of E. tectorius fruits. Molecular docking studies highlighted three potential antidiabetic compounds, dibutyl phthalate, diethyl phthalate and phytol that exhibited good binding affinity with target proteins, PPAR- γ, PTP-1B, glucokinase and IL-1β. This study thus suggests that the fruits of E.tectorius have a good potential as a source of antidiabetic compounds.