The wound healing effects of Citrus latifolia extracts: phytochemical profiling and in silico investigations.

BACKGROUND: Citrus latifolia is a natural source of biologically active compounds, particularly flavonoids and phenolic acids, which are known for their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. These properties suggest a potential role in promoting tissue repair and wound healing. METHOD: Extracts and fractions of C. latifolia were phytochemically profiled and evaluated for antioxidant activity. The ethyl acetate (EtOAc) fraction was further assessed for wound healing potential using BJ-1 human skin fibroblast cells. In silico molecular docking and dynamics simulations were conducted to explore the interactions of representative compounds with wound-healing–related protein targets. RESULTS: Twenty compounds were identified in sub-fraction 1, in which Citric acid tri-methyl ester (23%) and Oleic acid (7.57%) were considered the major compounds. Fourteen compounds were identified in sub-fraction 2; Methyl 7-hydroxyheptanoate (36.04%), 9-Hexadecenoic acid (12.29%) and 1, 8 cineole (6.92%) were the major constituents. Ten compounds were identified from the third fraction, in which 9-octadecenoic acid (63.43%) was the most significant, followed by Linalool (13.20%) and ρ- allyl anisole (5.24%). Citrus latifolia fruits showed total phenols (44.42 mg GAE/g) and total flavonoids (38.60 mg CE/g). The performance, interaction, and stability of the key chemicals discovered by GC–MS when bound to a protein's active site were predicted using a molecular dynamic simulation. DISCUSSION: The significant results may be attributed to the major identified phenolic compounds mentioned above in EtOAc fractions, suggesting possible biological effects that should be investigated in the near future. Therefore, expanding this type of research is recommended to produce therapies for wound healing activity of natural origin with cheap, safe, and less harmful side effects.