Comparative Metabolic Profiling and Anti‐Inflammatory Evaluation of <scp> <i>Ceiba speciosa</i> </scp> and <scp> <i>Ceiba insignis</i> </scp> Flower Extracts

Abstract

Ceiba insignis and Ceiba speciosa are utilized in traditional medicine for treating inflammatory diseases. The analysis of their extracts by LC-ESI-MS/MS revealed the presence of flavonoids like kaempferol hexoside and apigenin-O-deoxyhexosyl hexoside and fatty acids, namely, sterculic acid, α-linolenic acid, and dihydrosterculic acid. C. insignis extract decreased 5-lipoxygenase and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) gene expression by 0.2908-fold and 0.3276-fold, whereas C. speciosa extract reduced their expression by 0.4392-fold and 0.2663-fold, respectively. In response to lipopolysaccharide stimulation, both extracts had anti-inflammatory effects like those of the control medication celecoxib, which decreased 5-LOX and TNF-α expression by 0.3554-fold and 0.2263-fold, respectively. Molecular docking highlighted that dihydrosterculic acid showed the tightest fit within 5-LOX center revealing binding energy (∆G = -35.09 kcal/mol). Consequently, this study highlighted the relevance of the flowers of both Ceiba species in treating inflammatory disorders that in turn confirmed the traditional medicinal uses of these plants.