In silico and in vivo protective effect of Morus nigra leaves on oxidative damage induced by iron overload. - GreenMedInfo Summary

L. is a plant popularly known as 'amoreira preta', very used in folk medicine. Iron overload (hemochromatosis) is a clinical condition that causes damage to various tissues due to oxidative stress. Therapy to control iron overload is still unsatisfactory. The protective effect on oxidative stress induced by iron overload was verified. Phytochemical characterization was evaluated by UHPLC-MS/MS. Thetoxicity predictions of the main phytochemicals were performed via computer simulation. To induce iron overload, the animals received iron dextran (50 mg/kg/day). The test groups received doses of 500 and 1000 mg/kg ofextract for six weeks. Body weight, organosomatic index, serum iron, hepatic markers, cytokines, interfering factors in iron metabolism, enzymatic and histopathological evaluations were analyzed. Vanillic acid, caffeic acid, 6-hydroxycoumarin,-coumaric acid, ferulic acid, rutin, quercitrin, resveratrol, apigenin and kaempferol were identified in the extract. In addition,toxic predictions showed that the main compounds presented a low probability of toxic risk. The extract ofshowed to control the mediators of inflammation and to reduce iron overload in several tissues. Our findings illustrate a novel therapeutic action ofleaves on hemochromatosis caused by iron overload.