Abstract:
Sterculia foetida, also known as jangli badam in Bangladesh, is a traditionally used plant
that has pharmacological activities. A qualitative phytochemical analysis was performed to assess
the metabolites in a methanolic extract of S. foetida seeds (MESF), and the cytotoxic, thrombolytic,
anti-arthritics, analgesic, and antipyretic activities were examined using in vitro, in vivo, and in silico
experiments. Quantitative studies were performed through gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy
(GC-MS) analysis. The brine shrimp lethality bioassays and clot lysis were performed to investigate
the cytotoxic and thrombolytic activities, respectively. The anti-arthritics activity was assessed
using the albumin denaturation assay. Analgesic activity was determined using the acetic acidinduced
writhing test and the formalin-induced paw-licking test. A molecular docking study was
performed, and an online tool was used to perform ADME/T (absorption, distribution, metabolism,
and excretion/toxicity) and PASS (Prediction of Activity Spectra for Substances). GC-MS analysis
identified 29 compounds in MESF, consisting primarily of phenols, terpenoids, esters, and other
organic compounds. MESF showed moderate cytotoxic activity against brine shrimp and significant
thrombolytic and anti-arthritics activities compared with the relative standards. The extract also
showed a dose-dependent and significant analgesic and antipyretic activities. Docking studies
showed that 1-azuleneethanol, acetate returned the best scores for the tested enzymes. These findings
suggested that MESF represents a potent source of thrombolytic, anti-arthritic, analgesic, antipyretic
agents with moderate cytotoxic effects.