In Silico based-molecular Screening and Evaluation of In-vivo Anti-inflammatory activity of selected medicinal herbs for Psoriasis management

Anomalous immune reactions associated with psoriasis initiate an inflammatory cascade, prompting rapid multiplication and buildup of skin cells, resulting in distinctive scaly patches covered by flaky, silvery-whitish scales. The major challenges associated with the current practice are limited therapeutics with poor pharmacodynamic behaviour, which led to the search for lead phyto-compounds with potent anti-inflammatory potentiality. The current research investigated the anti-inflammatory potential of some ethnopharmacologically relevant medicinal plants for managing psoriasis. In the preliminary computational screening, betulin (BE) shows more comparable vital molecular interactions with the targeted inflammatory markers. In a simulated biological mimetic environment, BE offers a more thermodynamically stable interaction with the GLUT-1 transporter than all other molecular targets, suggesting its pivotal role in downregulating the glucose uptake mechanism in the inflamed cells. The methanolic extract of Betula utilis D. Don (MEB) shows a significant dose-dependent anti-inflammatory activity at concentrations ranging from 5 to 100 µg/ml compared to other plant species. In a carrageenan-induced inflammation model, MEB (400 mg/kg) significantly reduces the paw thickness by 85.86% compared to the diclofenac sodium-treated group (p<0.05). The in vitro and In-vivo anti-inflammatory responses were fine-tuned with cytokine assay. MEB (400 mg/kg) resulted in a notable decrease in pro-inflammatory marker concentrations, registering reductions of 58.48% in IL-17A, 72.56% in IL-4, 65.34% in IL-6, and 56.78% in TNF-α within the paw tissue which is closely related with the standard group. The potential of B. utilis D. Don as a therapeutic adjunct offers hope for more effective and targeted management of chronic skin inflammation conditions associated with psoriasis.