The Exploration of the Antidiabetic Potentialities of Bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) Fruits through In vivo, In vitro and In silico Approaches

Authors

• Arifa Sultana, Molecular Pharmacology and Herbal Drug Research Laboratory, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Dhaka, Dhaka 1000, BangladeshFollow
• Fahima Aktar, Molecular Pharmacology and Herbal Drug Research Laboratory, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Dhaka, Dhaka 1000, BangladeshFollow
• Fabiha Noushin, Department of Pharmacy, University of Chittagong, Chattogram, 4331, Bangladesh.Follow
• Mariam Wahed, Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Dhaka-1000, BangladeshFollow
• Jakir Ahmed Chowdhury, Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Dhaka-1000, BangladeshFollow
• Abu Asad Chowdhury, Molecular Pharmacology and Herbal Drug Research Laboratory, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Dhaka, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh.Follow
• Shaila Kabir, Molecular Pharmacology and Herbal Drug Research Laboratory, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Dhaka, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh.Follow
• Md. Shah Amran, Molecular Pharmacology and Herbal Drug Research Laboratory, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Dhaka, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh.Follow

Abstract

Due to the ineffectiveness, side effects, and high cost of conventional drugs, medicinal plants grabbed the attention to treat diabetes, which has been a global health concern nowadays. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the antidiabetic potentialities of bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) fruits in in vivo, in vitro, and in silico methods. For the in vivo assessment, alloxan-induced diabetic rats were fed food mixed with bottle gourd powder for 21 days. For the in vitro assessment, the alpha-amylase inhibitory assay was used to determine the antidiabetic properties of an ethanolic extract of L. siceraria. For the in silico assessment, ten compounds from L. siceraria were selected as found in literature, upon which molecular docking studies were conducted to evaluate the binding affinity of these compounds with Human CYP3A4 (bound to metformin) and Human dipeptidyl peptidase-IV proteins.  Bottle gourd powder showed slower activity to reverse the disease condition in animal model, but it has appeared to be safe for both the kidney and liver. Ethanolic extract of L. siceraria exerted a dose-dependent increase in percent (%) inhibition of alpha-amylase enzyme as compared to standard acarbose. In the molecular docking study, most of the targeted compounds showed better affinity toward selected protein compared to metformin hydrochloride. In addition, most of the compounds were found free of toxicities. Therefore, it is concluded that bottle gourd powder showed potential as an antidiabetic agent but further studies should be conducted on different extracts of L. siceraria to establish bottle gourd as a novel antidiabetic agent to treat diabetes mellitus.

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Recommended Citation

Sultana, Arifa; Aktar, Fahima; Noushin, Fabiha; Wahed, Mariam; Chowdhury, Jakir Ahmed; Chowdhury, Abu Asad; Kabir, Shaila; and Amran, Md. Shah (2026) "The Exploration of the Antidiabetic Potentialities of Bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) Fruits through In vivo, In vitro and In silico Approaches," Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research: Vol. 12: No. 3, Article 5.
DOI: 10.7454/psr.v12i3.1412
Available at: https://scholarhub.ui.ac.id/psr/vol12/iss3/5