Comparative Metabolic Profiling and Anti-Inflammatory Evaluation of Ceiba speciosa and Ceiba insignis Flower Extracts

Ceiba insignis and Ceiba speciosa are utilized in traditional medicine for treating inflammatory diseases. The analysis of their extracts by LC-ESI-MS/MS revealed the presence of flavonoids like kaempferol hexoside and apigenin-O-deoxyhexosyl hexoside and fatty acids, namely, sterculic acid, α-linolenic acid, and dihydrosterculic acid. C. insignis extract decreased 5-lipoxygenase and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) gene expression by 0.2908-fold and 0.3276-fold, whereas C. speciosa extract reduced their expression by 0.4392-fold and 0.2663-fold, respectively. In response to lipopolysaccharide stimulation, both extracts had anti-inflammatory effects like those of the control medication celecoxib, which decreased 5-LOX and TNF-α expression by 0.3554-fold and 0.2263-fold, respectively. Molecular docking highlighted that dihydrosterculic acid showed the tightest fit within 5-LOX center revealing binding energy (∆G = -35.09 kcal/mol). Consequently, this study highlighted the relevance of the flowers of both Ceiba species in treating inflammatory disorders that in turn confirmed the traditional medicinal uses of these plants.