Anti-Parkinson's activity of Phragmites communis Trin. rhizomes and their liposomal formulation: Insights from chemical and molecular docking analyses.

Parkinson's disease (PD) arises primarily from the progressive degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the brain, yet current therapeutic options remain inadequate for fully overcoming the disease or halting its progression. This critical unmet need has spurred significant research into natural products as promising neuroprotective agents. In this context, our study represents the first exploration of the in vivo anti-Parkinson's potential of Phragmites communis Trin. (Common reed; family Poaceae) and its novel liposomal formulation. We demonstrated that both the total methanolic extract of P. communis rhizomes (TMEPCR) and its liposomal preparation (TMEPCR-Lip) exhibited multi-target neuroprotective actions in a rotenone-induced Parkinsonian rat model. These effects were mediated through the alleviation of oxidative stress and the inhibition of pro-inflammatory and apoptotic markers, with TMEPCR-Lip showing particularly prominent benefits. Histopathological and immunohistochemical analyses further corroborated these significant findings. Moreover, metabolic profiling of TMEPCR via liquid chromatography-high resolution-electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (LC-HR-ESI-MS) revealed a rich composition of phenolic acids, alkaloids, flavonoids, sterols, and quinones. Most of these identified compounds displayed moderate to promising binding affinities within the active sites of human monoamine oxidase-B, suggesting a potential pharmacological basis for the observed effects. Collectively, these findings underscore the therapeutic promise of P. communis for developing natural agents with diverse mechanisms against PD, while also highlighting the valuable role of liposomes in augmenting their neuroprotective efficacy.