Molecular Mechanisms of Anti-Inflammatory Activities of the Extracts of Ocimumgratissimum and Thymus Vulgaris

Background: a large body of literature suggests that the extracts of ocimum gratissimum(o. gratissimum) and thymus vulgaris (t. vulgaris) play protective rolesagainst various inflammatory disorders. however, the possible mechanism of actionwith reference to the interactions of their respective phytochemical compositions withpro-inflammatory mediators as the indication of their therapeutic effects is less clear.therefore, the immunomodulatory properties of o. gratissimum and t. vulgaris wereinvestigated in this study.methods: the in vitro lipoxygenase inhibitory potentials of methanolic extracts of theselected plants were assessed through colorimetric analysis. the pharmacokinetics ofsome identified compounds in the botanicals were investigated via the swiss admeserver while the molecular interactions of the compounds with lipoxygenase, il-1, il-6,tnf-α, il-8, and ccl-2 were performed through molecular docking.results: the assessment of the lipoxygenase inhibition revealed the extracts could possessanti-inflammatory agents. the pharmacokinetic results of some selected compoundsidentified in the botanicals showed moderate toxic effects compared to indomethacin.the molecular docking study substantiated the report of the in vitro analysisas indicated in the binding score of all the selected compounds compared to indomethacin.conclusion: the phytochemical components of the extracts of o. gratissimum and t.vulgaris could be effective as anti-inflammatory agents that could be explored inpreventing disorders associated with excessive activities of pro-inflammatory mediators.