Research Information System
Pharmacological Research - Natural Products, vol.10, 2026 (Scopus)
Background: Clerodendrum infortunatum Linn has long been valued in traditional medicine for its therapeutic properties. Phytochemical studies have revealed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, terpenoids, and phenolic compounds that contribute to its anticancer and anti-inflammatory activities. Since inflammation and angiogenesis are strongly correlated, this study investigated novel bioactive compounds in the ethyl acetate root extract of C. infortunatum and evaluated their antiangiogenic potential Methods: Roots were subjected to sequential solvent extraction using hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, and methanol. Extracts testing positive for phytochemicals were analysed through LC-MS, GC-MS, and NMR. Newly identified compounds were docked against VEGFR1 and VEGFR2 to predict key interactions and estimate binding energies by the MM/GBSA approach. Antiangiogenic activity was further assessed via vitro assays, including cell proliferation and scratch wound healing in MiaPaCa-2 and Panc-1 cell lines. In vivo activity was evaluated by in ovo CAM assay. Additionally, a deep learning–based automated imaging protocol was developed for CAM vasculature quantification, pretrained on retina fundus images and validated on in ovo and ex ovo datasets. Results: Ethyl acetate root extracts revealed unique compounds, including (±) Pinorescinol, Baicalin, Datiscin, Wogonoside, and Cornuside, showing strong binding affinities to VEGFR2 and VEGFR1. The extract exhibited potent antiangiogenic activity with IC₅₀ values of 4.5 and 4.65 µg/ml in MiaPaCa-2 and Panc-1 cells, respectively. Scratch assays confirmed reduced cell migration. The deep learning framework achieved robust segmentation with IoU scores up to 0.83 and AUC-ROC of 0.86. Conclusion: This study identifies novel antiangiogenic compounds in C. infortunatum and introduces an innovative automated imaging pipeline for angiogenesis research.