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Verbena officinalis L. is a traditionally important medicinal herb that has a rich source of bioactive phytoconstituents with biological benefits. The objective of this study was to assess the metabolic profile and in vitro biological potential of V. officinalis. The bioactive phytoconstituents were evaluated by preliminary phytochemical studies, estimation of polyphenolic contents, and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis of all fractions (crude methanolic, n-hexane, ethyl acetate, and n-butanol) of V. officinalis. The biological investigation was performed by different assays including antioxidant assays (DPPH, ABTS, CUPRAC, and FRAP), enzyme inhibition assays (urease and α-glucosidase), and hemolytic activity. The ethyl acetate extract had the maximum concentration of total phenolic and total flavonoid contents (394.30 ± 1.09 mg GAE·g−1 DE and 137.35 ± 0.94 mg QE·g−1 DE, respectively). Significant antioxidant potential was observed in all fractions by all four antioxidant methods. Maximum urease inhibitory activity in terms of IC50 value was shown by ethyl acetate fraction (10 ± 1.60 µg mL−1) in comparison to standard hydroxy urea (9.8 ± 1.20 µg·mL−1). The n-hexane extract showed good α-glucosidase inhibitory efficacy (420 ± 20 µg·mL−1) as compared to other extract/fractions. Minimum hemolytic activity was found in crude methanolic fraction (6.5 ± 0.94%) in comparison to positive standard Triton X-100 (93.5 ± 0.48%). The GC-MS analysis of all extract/fractions of V. officinalis including crude methanolic, n-hexane, ethyl acetate, and n-butanol fractions, resulted in the identification of 24, 56, 25, and 9 bioactive compounds, respectively, with 80% quality index. Furthermore, the bioactive compounds identified by GC-MS were analyzed using in silico molecular docking studies to determine the binding affinity between ligands and enzymes (urease and α-glucosidase). In conclusion, V. officinalis possesses multiple therapeutical potentials, and further research is needed to explore its use in the treatment of chronic diseases.

Verbena officinalis is commonly used in traditional medicine to treat many ailments. Extracts of this plant are therapeutic agents for the potential treatment of different diseases, including colorectal and liver cancers, but have not been explored for their anti-melanoma potential so far. The goal of the current work was to prepare a methanolic extract and fractionate it using hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, butanol, and acetone to get semi-purified products. These semi-purified fractions were studied for their potency against melanoma cell lines. The three potent fractions (HA, VO79, and EA3) demonstrated 50% inhibition concentration (IC50) values as low as 2.85 µg/mL against the LOX IMVI cell line. All three fractions showed similar potency in inhibiting the growth of the B16 cells, a murine melanoma cell line. Based on high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) data, for the first time, we report on lupulone A from this plant. LC-MS data also indicated the presence of hedergonic acid, serjanic acid, and other compounds in V. officinalis extracts.

Published in May - 2021

Objective: To explore the constructs of the Health Belief Model in order to predict medication adherence in patients with human immunodeficiency virus., Methods: The correlational study was conducted at Jinnah Hospital, Lahore, Pakistan, from March to May 2019, and comprised patients positive for human immunodeficiency virus aged 18-55 years and taking antiretroviral therapy from at least three months. Data was collected using the Urdu version of the health belief scale (HBS), cues to action, and adherence determination questionnaire (ADQ). Data was analysed using SPSS 22., Results: Of the 150 subjects, 109(72.7%) were males, 36(24%) were females and 5(3.3%) were transgender. The overall mean age was 33.17+/-8.22 years. The perceived susceptibility, severity and barriers to engage in human immunodeficiency virus-preventive behaviour significantly positively predicted medication adherence (p<0.05). Perceived benefits were not helpful in understanding medication adherence pattern (p>0.05)., Conclusions: There was need to introduce awareness campaign regarding the importance of taking regular medication by human immunodeficiency virus patients.