Unveiling antioxidant and anti-inflammatory potentials of Garcinia microphylla Merr.: first report on metabolomics studies, in vitro and in vivo approaches.

This research aims to characterise the metabolite profile of the stem bark extract of Garcinia microphylla Merr. using Liquid Chromatography-High Resolution Mass Spectrometry (LC-HRMS), evaluate antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. LC-HRMS detected the presence of (2 R)-5-hydroxy-7-methoxyflavanone as the most common metabolite. The n-hexane, methylene chloride, ethyl acetate, and ethanol extracts exhibited strong inhibition of 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH•) and 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS•+), heat-induced and hypotonicity-induced red blood cell membrane damage, antiproteinase, and protein denaturation in each solvent. The ethanol extract 20 mg/kgBW showed the highest inhibition of 79.31% compared to standard diclofenac sodium 75.47% at the fifth hour using paw edoema model, and 60 mg/kgBW significantly reduced total leukocytes in exudate fluid (5.33 ± 3.68 × 103/mm3), compared with standard diclofenac sodium (6.46 ± 2.40 × 103/mm3) in carrageenan-induced peritonitis in rats. Garcinia microphylla extract shows promising anti-inflammatory potential influenced by the levels of secondary metabolites present and its antioxidant activity.