Phytochemical Screening and in-silico Drug-Likeness Study of Passiflora edulis Seed Extracts

Abstract

Passiflora edulis is a fruiting vine plant from family passifloraceae. This fruit is known for its unique taste and aromatic juice. Generally, the seeds of this fruit are ignored, but they are known to be rich in fibre and oil content. However, limited literature is available on the scientific studies of the bioactive compounds present in these seeds. Hence, this study has showed the presence of several phytochemicals in the aqueous, methanol and chloroform extracts obtained from these seeds.  Thin layer chromatography of these extracts was also performed using two solvent systems and spots were identified.  The UV- Vis scanning of extracts produced peaks at specific wavelengths indicating the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, carotenoids and phenolic compounds. Further, due to the presence of several peaks in the methanolic extract during the preliminary analysis, the same extract was used in the Gas Chromatography Mass Spectroscopy. This analysis revealed the presence of six major bioactive compounds. These compounds were subjected to SwissADME software tool and critical parameters were selected for analysis. Upon analysing the results obtained for their critical parameters, three compounds like butanedioic acid- 2 cyano-2,3-dimethyl-diethyl ester, acetaldehyde-hydroxyl and trimethylene oxide were identified to possess drug likeliness properties. These compounds are also known for their sedative, antibiotic, antiviral and anticancerous properties. Hence these compounds can be considered as potential lead molecules in drug development process.