article · Food Science & Nutrition
Chickweed, scientifically known as Stellaria media, is a globally widespread plant evaluated for its chemical composition and biological properties using various solvent extracts. Chemical profiling identified twelve phenolic compounds, largely flavonoids including apigenin and kaempferol derivatives. In vitro assays demonstrated distinct biological actions across the different extracts: the water extract showed the strongest free radical scavenging capacity, whereas the ethanol extract demonstrated the highest reducing power. Additionally, the ethyl acetate extract showed the strongest acetylcholinesterase inhibition, and the water extract exhibited cytotoxic effects against HepG2 liver cancer cells. Network pharmacology linked the extracts to forty-five cancer-associated target genes, highlighting key hub genes including TP53, CDKN2A, PTEN, KRAS, and HRAS. Molecular docking further confirmed favourable binding energies between specific flavonoid glycosides and target proteins, indicating potential utility in health formulations.
Identifying effective natural sources of bioactive compounds supports the discovery of treatments for oxidative stress, cancer, and enzyme-linked disorders. Chickweed is an abundant, globally accessible plant whose verified antioxidant, cytotoxic, and enzyme-inhibiting properties offer a baseline for developing plant-derived therapies. Mapping these biological effects to specific genes and chemical structures helps researchers understand how natural extracts could interact with human cellular mechanisms.
The findings suggest chickweed extracts could provide functional ingredients for commercial formulators in the pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, and cosmeceutical sectors targeting antioxidant or health-promoting products. However, the work represents early-stage laboratory research consisting of in vitro tests, network pharmacology, and molecular docking. Translation to real-world products will require substantial validation, including in vivo trials, toxicity assessments, formulation optimisation, and regulatory clearance.
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ABSTRACT Stellaria media L., also called chickweed, is widespread in all parts of the world. In the present study, we investigated the biological properties and chemical profiles of different extracts (ethyl acetate, ethanol, ethanol/water, and water) of S. media . The chemical profiles were examined using UHPLC/MS/MS technique. Regarding the biological properties, antioxidant properties as well as enzyme‐inhibiting and cytotoxic effects of the extracts were demonstrated by in vitro methods. To obtain further information about the structure‐ability relationship, network pharmacology and molecular docking were also performed. Twelve phenolic compounds were identified in the extracts and most of them were flavonoids (apigenin, kaempferol derivatives, etc.). The water extract showed the best free radical scavenging activity, while the ethanol was the most active in reducing power tests. When inhibiting AChE, the ethyl acetate extract showed the best inhibitory effect. The water extract has a good cytotoxic effect on HepG2 (cell viability: 33.9% at a concentration of 100 g/mL). The analysis, performed using the STRING database, included these 45 cancer‐associated targets. The identified hub genes were TP53, CDKN2A, PTEN, KRAS, and HRAS. In molecular docking analysis, acacetin‐ O ‐hexoside‐ O ‐deoxyhexoside and napigenin‐7‐ O ‐hexoside exhibit remarkable binding energies with proteins. Consequently, S. media can be potential raw materials for designing functional formulations in the pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, and cosmeceutical industries.
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DOI: 10.1002/fsn3.4505
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