Ellagic Acid, Kaempferol, and Quercetin from Acacia nilotica: Promising Combined Drug With Multiple Mechanisms of Action

Curr Pharmacol Rep. 2019;5(4):255-280. doi: 10.1007/s40495-019-00181-w. Epub 2019 May 14.

Abstract

The pharmacological activity of Acacia nilotica's phytochemical constituents was confirmed with evidence-based studies, but the determination of exact targets that they bind and the mechanism of action were not done; consequently, we aim to identify the exact targets that are responsible for the pharmacological activity via the computational methods. Furthermore, we aim to predict the pharmacokinetics (ADME) properties and the safety profile in order to identify the best drug candidates. To achieve those goals, various computational methods were used including the ligand-based virtual screening and molecular docking. Moreover, pkCSM and SwissADME web servers were used for the prediction of pharmacokinetics and safety. The total number of the investigated compounds and targets was 25 and 61, respectively. According to the results, the pharmacological activity was attributed to the interaction with essential targets. Ellagic acid, Kaempferol, and Quercetin were the best A. nilotica's phytochemical constituents that contribute to the therapeutic activities, were non-toxic as well as non-carcinogen. The administration of Ellagic acid, Kaempferol, and Quercetin as combined drug via the novel drug delivery systems will be a valuable therapeutic choice for the treatment of recent diseases attacking the public health including cancer, multidrug-resistant bacterial infections, diabetes mellitus, and chronic inflammatory systemic disease.

Keywords: A. nilotica; ADMET and computer-aided drug discovery; Ellagic acid; Kaempferol; Multiple mechanisms of action; Quercetin.

Publication types

  • Review