Chemical Constituents of Lagenaria siceraria Mesocarp and Its Xanthine Oxidase and Alpha-Amylase Inhibitory Activities

The present studywas conducted to identify natural products in the bioactive fractions of Lagenaria siceraria mesocarp. Column chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was used for separation and identification of phytochemicals. Methanolic extract and its fractions displayed alpha-amylase and xanthine oxidase inhibitory activities comparable to standard drugs. GC-MS analysis of the fractions and column eluates revealed the presence of a variety of chemical compounds, including 4-(methoxymethyl) phenol, 2,2'-methylenebis{6(1,1-dimethylethyl)-4-ethyl} phenol, methyl 2-hydroxy-3-phenylpropanoate, oxacyclododecane-2,8-dione, N-(2-(4-hydroxyphenyl) ethyl acetamide, 2,3-Epoxycarane, 4-(propan-2-yl) benzaldehyde, octadec-1-ene, 4a-methyl-1-methylidene-1,2,3,4,4a, 9,10,10a-octahydrophenanthrene, 2,6-di(propan-2-yl) naphthalene, methyl 3-(4-hydroxy-3,5-dimethylphenyl) propanoate, 4,8a-dimethyl-6-(prop-1-en-2-yl)-3,5,6,7,8,8a-hexahydronaphthalen- 2(1H)-one 1,3-dihydro-2-benzofuran, methyl N-hydroxybenzenecarboximidoate, linoleic acid, and palmitic acid. Many of these compounds are being reported for the first time from this plant, the presence of which may explain, at least partly, its medicinal efficacy. The fruit possesses significant anti-enzymatic properties against alpha-amylase and xanthine oxidase, and the most active compounds of mesocarp of the fruit appear in ethyl acetate fraction of its methanolic extract.