Membrane stabilisation: A possible anti-inflammatory mechanism for the extracts and compounds from Spathodea campanulata

This study was undertaken to evaluate the efficiency of extract, fractions and pure molecules from Spathodea campanulata (SC) towards inflammation. Polarity-based extracts of SC were found active in stabilising red blood cell (RBC) membrane indicating anti-inflammatory potential. Bioactivity-guided isolation of SC produced 1-O-(E)-caffeoyl-β-gentiobiose and (2S)-1,2-di-O-[(9Z,12Z,15Z)-octadeca-9,12,15-trienoyl]-3-O-[α-d-galctopyranosyl-(1″ → 6′)-O-β-d-galactopyranosyl] glycerol as the active constituents with 65.91% and 67.41% of membrane stability, respectively. Activity of the third compound (verminoside) could not be ascertained owing to extremely low recoverability. Furthermore, the isolated compounds were subjected to in silico studies. The compounds showed good binding affinity towards cyclooxygenase-2. Absorption, distribution, metabolism & excretion (ADME)-toxicity studies illustrated that the isolated compounds are free of toxicity. These observations help us to conclude that SC might exert its anti-inflammatory activity by soothing the RBC membrane as it is the case for non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs towards lysozomal membranes. Therefore, SC might be considered as a potential candidate for development of anti-inflammatory drugs.