Acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity of extract and essential oil of Heracleum persicum

Abstract

Introduction: According to the signals in traditional medicine sources, the flower of the plant "Golpar" was known for its anti-forgetting property. In the present study, we investigate the effect of this plant on Alzheimer's disease. Heracleum persicum, commonly known as Persian Hogweed. It belongs to the Apiaceae family. Heracleum persicum, in Iranian traditional medicine, is used for the treatment of various diseases including neurological, gastrointestinal, respiratory, rheumatological, urinary tract, and to alleviate stomach bloating.Aim: Investigating the inhibitory effect of Heracleum persicum fruits on acetylcholinesterase enzyme.Methods: The fruit powder of the plant was extracted using steam distillation method to obtain the essential oil, and the Soxhlet apparatus was used to extract the plant's essence. In the first stage, the extractions were performed using petroleum ether, dichloromethane, and methanol solvents, and in the second stage, n-hexane, ethyl acetate, and ethanol solvents were used. The obtained extracts were dried by two methods: vacuum drying and freeze drying. Various concentrations of extracts and essential oils were prepared. Acetylcholinesterase enzyme was extracted from healthy human blood, and the intensity of absorption of different concentrations of the extracts was measured using the Ellman method. The composition of the essential oil was identified using GC-MS equipment. The chemical compounds of the effective extracts were also collected from previous studies. Finally, Molecular modeling studies were performed with AutoDocktools-1.5.6 software to study the interaction mechanism of compounds.

Results: According to the results of the Ellman test, the petroleum ether, ethanol, and methanol extracts of the Golpar plants and essential oil have anti-cholinesterase effects. Molecular docking simulation results showed that the identified compounds have good affinity for inhibiting the enzyme.Discussion: It seems that the compounds in the essential oil and extracts of Heracleum persicum have an inhibitory effect on the enzyme acetylcholinesterase.