Elucidation of phytomedicinal efficacies of Clerodendrum inerme (L.) Gaertn. (Wild Jasmine)

Abstract Clerodendrum inerme is a perennial shrub belonging to the family Lamiaceae and is used in many of the herbal preparations of Siddha and Ayurveda in India. Ethnomedicinally, the leaves of this plant are used to cure various ailments. In spite of enormous ethnomedicinal implications, proper chemical profiling and characterization of isolated compounds of C. inerme still remains unaddressed. Present study involves the characterization and chemical profiling of phytoconstituents from leaf extract which promise to be of immense therapeutic significance. Two compounds namely squalene and linolenic acid methyl ester were isolated from the leaves of C. inerme employing column chromatography technique. The structures were elucidated by spectroscopic methods including FTIR, 1H NMR and 13C NMR. Subsequently, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of the isolated compounds were estimated in-vitro. Pertaining results were validated with in silico molecular docking-based investigations which revealed that both the compounds displayed high binding affinities with the target proteins of the antioxidant pathway commonly targeted for drug development.