ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Ethnopharmacology
Exploring the therapeutic potential of Tetrastigma bracteolatum (Wall.) Planch. methanol extract and its different fractions: In vitro, in vivo, and in silico approaches
Fatima Anjum Faruquee 1
Tufael Ahmed 1
Baudrul Mohammad Shahjalal 2
Utsab Acharya 3
Milan Rai 3
Md Kauser Miah 4
Mohammad A Rashid 5
Safaet Alam 6
Yuan Seng Wu 7
Md Moklesur Rahman Sarker 8
Nur Azlina Mohd Fahami 9
Mohsin Kazi 10
1. State University of Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh
2. Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Mississippi, United States, Oxford, United States
3. 2Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Mississippi, United States, Oxford, United States
4. Department of Computer and Information Science, Gannon University, United States, Pennsylvania, United States
5. University of Dhaka Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Dhaka, Bangladesh
6. Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Dhaka, Bangladesh
7. Sunway University School of Medical and Life Sciences, Bandar Sunway, Malaysia
8. College of Pharmacy, Mercer University, Atlanta, United States
9. Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Jabatan Farmakologi, Cheras, Malaysia
10. Department of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, United States
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Abstract
Tetrastigma bracteolatum (Wall.) Planch, an indigenous plant of Bangladesh, is traditionally used for pain management. This study aimed to determine its biological activities through an integrated in-vitro, in-vivo, and in-silico approach. Crude methanol extract was prepared using the maceration technique and fractionated into different solvent fractions. Antioxidant, thrombolytic, and mem-brane-stabilizing activities were assessed in-vitro, while antidiabetic, antidiarrheal, CNS-stimulating, and analgesic activities were performed in-vivo using Swiss albino mice. Among the fractions, the chloroform-soluble fraction (CSF) exhibited the highest phenolic content and membrane stabilizing activity, while the aqueous-soluble fraction (AQSF) demonstrated strong antioxidant properties. The petroleum ether fraction showed significant cytotoxic activity. The crude methanol extract exhibited potent antidiarrheal and hypoglycemic effects in mice, with ef-ficacy comparable to standard drugs. The extract significantly exhibited CNS stimulating activity as well. Additionally, it demonstrated analgesic activity by significantly prolonging pain response times and reducing chemically induced pain behaviors in mice. In-silico docking studies revealed strong binding affinities of the extract’s compounds against key biological targets involved in in-flammation, pain modulation, and metabolic regulation. Moreover, toxicity predictions indicated that all compounds were non-toxic and free from carcinogenic effects. These findings suggest that T. bracteolatum possesses promising antioxidant, membrane-stabilizing, antidiarrheal, antihyper-glycemic, antidepressant, and analgesic properties, supporting its potential therapeutic applica-tions.
Summary
Keywords
analgesic, Antidiarrhea, Antihyperglycemic, Anti-oxidant, Membrane stabilizing, Tetrastigma bracteolatum, Thrombo-lytic
Received
13 November 2025
Accepted
22 January 2026
Copyright
© 2026 Faruquee, Ahmed, Shahjalal, Acharya, Rai, Miah, Rashid, Alam, Wu, Sarker, Mohd Fahami and Kazi. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Md Moklesur Rahman Sarker; Nur Azlina Mohd Fahami
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