In vitro α-amylase and hemoglobin glycation inhibitory potential of Nigella sativa essential oil, and molecular docking studies of its principal components

Nigella sativa is plant that is endowed with various pharmacological activities including antioxidant, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antidiabetic, and immunostimulant. This study aims to investigate the antidiabetic activity of the N. sativa essential oil on two key enzymes the alpha-amylase and hemoglobin glycation. After the extraction procedure, the N. sativa essential oil, were subject to qualitative and semi-quantitative analysis using GC/MS, for the identification of the different bioactive compounds. This was followed by an evaluation of the in vitro inhibition capacity of the alpha-amylase and the hemoglobin glycation. Finally, a molecular docking study was conducted to determine the bioactive compounds responsible for the antidiabetic activity. The extracted essential oil showed the presence of different bioactive compounds including alpha-phellandrene (29.6%), beta-cymene (23.8%), 4-caranol (9.7%), thymol (7%). The N. sativa essential oil was found to be endowed with an antiradical scavenging activity with an IC50 of (7.81 +/- 0.08 mg/ml), and to have a ferric reducing activity with an IC50 value of (7.53 +/- 0.11 mg/ml). The IC50 value for the alpha-amylase inhibitory activity was 0.809 mg/ml, indicating an inhibitory impact of the enzyme. The IC50 value for the N. sativa essential oil's hemoglobin antiglycation activity was 0.093 mg/ml. For most predominating phytochemicals present in the N. sativa essential oil, molecular docking studies against human pancreatic alpha-amylase and human hemoglobin enzymes revealed that these compounds can serve as lead molecules to develop new antidiabetic compounds.

Automated summary

This study discovered the antidiabetic activity of N. sativa essential oil by inhibiting alpha-amylase and hemoglobin glycation. Molecular docking revealed that the bioactive compounds in the essential oil could potentially serve as lead molecules for developing new antidiabetic compounds.