Exploring <i>Elaeis guineensis</i>: Enzyme inhibition, antimicrobial properties, chemical composition and <i>in silico</i> docking analysis

Ateeq Ahmed Al-Zahrani; Mustapha Abdullahi; Abdulrahman Mahmoud Dogara; Abubakar Abdullahi Lema; Muhammad Tukur Ibrahim; Aisha Abdullahi Mahmud; Muhammad Usman; Ammar A. Razzak Mahmoud; Ateeq Ahmed Al-Zahrani; Mustapha Abdullahi; Abdulrahman Mahmoud Dogara; Abubakar Abdullahi Lema; Muhammad Tukur Ibrahim; Aisha Abdullahi Mahmud; Muhammad Usman; Ammar A. Razzak Mahmoud

doi:10.3934/biophy.2025023

AIMS Biophysics

2025, Volume 12, Issue 4: 475-498. doi: 10.3934/biophy.2025023

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Research article

Exploring Elaeis guineensis: Enzyme inhibition, antimicrobial properties, chemical composition and in silico docking analysis

1.
Chemistry Department, University College at Al-Qunfudhah, Umm Al-Qura University, Saudi Arabia
2.
Faculty of Physical Sciences, Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, Kaduna State University, Tafawa-Balewa Way, Kaduna State, Nigeria
3.
Biology Education Department, Tishk International University, Erbil, Iraq
4.
Department of Biological Sciences, College of Natural and Applied Sciences, Al-Qalam University Katsina, Katsina, Katsina State, Nigeria
5.
Department of Chemistry, Ahmadu Bello University, P.M.B. 1044 Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria
6.
Department of Plant Science and Biotechnology, Faculty of Life Science, Federal University Dutsin-Ma, Katsina State, Nigeria
7.
Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science, Nigerian Defense Academy, Kaduna, Nigeria
8.
Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, University of Baghdad, Iraq

Received: 02 August 2025 Revised: 11 September 2025 Accepted: 17 September 2025 Published: 29 September 2025

For centuries, plants have been essential sources of food, shelter, and traditional medicine. With growing antimicrobial resistance and the side effects of modern drugs, there is an urgent need to explore natural remedies as safer therapeutic alternatives. Thus, we aimed to evaluate biological activities, chemical composition, and molecular docking of Elaeis guineensis. Total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), radical scavenging activity (DPPH), ferric reducing antioxidant potential (FRAP) assay, α-glucosidase, antimicrobial, gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GCMS), and molecular docking were evaluated. The findings showed average values of 85.23% for DPPH, 57.2 mg/g dry weight for ferric FRAP, 140.4 mg/g Gallic Acid Equivalents for TPC, 120.2 mg/g Quercetin Equivalents (QE) for TFC, along with 65.01 ± 0.2% for α-glucosidase and 14.2 ± 0.2 mm for antimicrobial activity from the ethanol peel extracts. The virtual docking screening showed that compounds 8, 10, and 14 had better binding scores with MolDock scores between −106.05 and −108.94 kcal/mol than that of ciprofloxacin (−105.84 kcal/mol), with hydrogen and hydrophobic bonds playing the most crucial contributions in the molecular interactions. These combined in vitro and in silico findings imply that the peels of E. guineensis are rich in multifunctional phytochemicals that exhibit strong antioxidant, α-glucosidase, and antibacterial inhibitory properties.
- Elaeis guineensis,
- flavonoids,
- antimicrobial activity,
- in-silico,
- virtual docking
Citation: Ateeq Ahmed Al-Zahrani, Mustapha Abdullahi, Abdulrahman Mahmoud Dogara, Abubakar Abdullahi Lema, Muhammad Tukur Ibrahim, Aisha Abdullahi Mahmud, Muhammad Usman, Ammar A. Razzak Mahmoud. Exploring Elaeis guineensis: Enzyme inhibition, antimicrobial properties, chemical composition and in silico docking analysis[J]. AIMS Biophysics, 2025, 12(4): 475-498. doi: 10.3934/biophy.2025023

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Abstract

For centuries, plants have been essential sources of food, shelter, and traditional medicine. With growing antimicrobial resistance and the side effects of modern drugs, there is an urgent need to explore natural remedies as safer therapeutic alternatives. Thus, we aimed to evaluate biological activities, chemical composition, and molecular docking of Elaeis guineensis. Total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), radical scavenging activity (DPPH), ferric reducing antioxidant potential (FRAP) assay, α-glucosidase, antimicrobial, gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GCMS), and molecular docking were evaluated. The findings showed average values of 85.23% for DPPH, 57.2 mg/g dry weight for ferric FRAP, 140.4 mg/g Gallic Acid Equivalents for TPC, 120.2 mg/g Quercetin Equivalents (QE) for TFC, along with 65.01 ± 0.2% for α-glucosidase and 14.2 ± 0.2 mm for antimicrobial activity from the ethanol peel extracts. The virtual docking screening showed that compounds 8, 10, and 14 had better binding scores with MolDock scores between −106.05 and −108.94 kcal/mol than that of ciprofloxacin (−105.84 kcal/mol), with hydrogen and hydrophobic bonds playing the most crucial contributions in the molecular interactions. These combined in vitro and in silico findings imply that the peels of E. guineensis are rich in multifunctional phytochemicals that exhibit strong antioxidant, α-glucosidase, and antibacterial inhibitory properties.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Author contributions

All authors were involved in developing and designing the study. AMD AAL AAM MU and performed the in-vitro study. AAA, AA-RM, MTI and MA performed the in-silico study. All the authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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