@Article{phyton.2026.075718,
AUTHOR = {Shaimaa R. Ahmed, Omnia M. Hendawy, Sumera Qasim, Hanan Khojah, Ambreen Malik Uttra},
TITLE = {Metabolite Profiling and Skin Anti-Aging Potential of <i>Astragalus sarcocolla</i>: Antioxidant, Enzyme Inhibitory, and Computational Insights},
JOURNAL = {Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany},
VOLUME = {95},
YEAR = {2026},
NUMBER = {2},
PAGES = {--},
URL = {http://www.techscience.com/phyton/v95n2/66475},
ISSN = {1851-5657},
ABSTRACT = {The study evaluated the skin anti-aging activity of <i>Astragalus sarcocolla</i> leaves extract (ASE) by assessing its antioxidant and inhibitory effect activity on matrix metalloproteinase (MMP), collagenase, elastase, hyaluronidase, and tyrosinase in relation to its chemical composition. Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (UPLC-MS) identified 27 metabolites (15 flavonoids, 8 phenolic acids and their derivatives, and 4 coumarins). ASE showed strong antioxidant capacity in DPPH (IC<sub>50</sub> value of 26.05 µg/mL) and FRAP (2433 µM FeSO<sub>4</sub>/g extract) assays. The extract inhibited MMP-1 and MMP-9 in a concentration-dependent manner and suppressed collagenase, elastase, hyaluronidase, and tyrosinase activities (IC<sub>50</sub> = 35.038, 40.748, 61.389, and 30.980 µg/mL, respectively). A network pharmacology study was conducted to uncover the mechanisms responsible for skin anti-aging effects, and molecular docking further evaluated interactions of key metabolites with hub targets. Twenty-one bioactive metabolites, selected based on oral bioavailability and drug-likeness, highlighted cinnamic acid, acacetin, luteolin, kaempferol, and apigenin as key compounds. MMP-9, ESR1, PTGS-2, and EGFR were identified as main targets. Docking studies revealed that acacetin and apigenin have stronger binding affinities to MMP-9, PTGS-2, and EGFR than other constituents. These findings suggest that ASE may serve as a natural multi-target skin anti-aging remedy with potential cosmetic applications.},
DOI = {10.32604/phyton.2026.075718}
}