Loliolide: green monoterpenoid lactone with therapeutic and ecological significance-a comprehensive review with...

Natural monoterpenoid lactone, loliolide has garnered scientific attention due to its multifunctional pharmacological, ecological, and biochemical activities. Ubiquitously found in marine algae, terrestrial organisms, fungi, and certain animal organisms, loliolide possesses a wide range of biological activities, including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anticancer, neuroprotective, antidiabetic, antidepressant, immunosuppressive, antiviral, and allelopathic activities. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the pharmacological activities with molecular mechanism, and ecological roles of loliolide with a specific focus on its drug-likeness profile (in silico) and therapeutic potential. Mechanistically, loliolide acts through modulation of critical pathways such as NRF2/ARE, NF-κB, MAPK, AMPK, and Wnt/β-catenin. Additionally, the compound's allelopathic activity makes it a viable green substitute in agrochemicals. Furthermore, In silico assessments (ADME, molecular networking/docking) reinforce its drug-like properties, with favorable ADMET characteristics. GO and Kegg pathway analysis demonstrated that loliolide works by interfering by inflammation and and other mechanistic pathways. Molecular docking showed strong binding affinities - 10.2 and - 8.7, - 7.4 and - 7.3 with receptor COX2[ICX2], apoptosis[5O10], anti-aging[7ZBF] and anti-oxidant [ 2HE3] respectively. Overall, this review provides the multifunctional potential of loliolide as a prospective bioactive molecule in drug discovery and environmental biotechnology.