Wound Healing Metabolites from Peters' Elephant-Nose Fish Oil: An In Vivo Investigation Supported by In Vitro and In Silico Studies.

(F. Mormyridae) commonly known as Peters' elephant-nose fish is a freshwater elephant fish native to West and Central African rivers. The present research aimed at metabolic profiling of its derived crude oil via GC-MS analysis. In addition, wound healing aptitude in adult male New Zealand Dutch strain albino rabbits along with isolated bioactive compounds in comparison with a commercial product (Mebo). The molecular mechanism was studied through a number of in vitro investigations, i.e., radical scavenging and inhibition of COX enzymes, in addition to in silico molecular docking study. The results revealed a total of 35 identified (71.11%) compounds in the fish oil, belonging to fatty acids (59.57%), sterols (6.11%), and alkanes (5.43%). Phytochemical investigation of the crude oil afforded isolation of six compounds . Moreover, the crude oil showed significant in vitro hydrogen peroxide and superoxide radical scavenging activities. Furthermore, the crude oil along with one of its major components (compound ) exhibited selective inhibitory activity towards COX-2 with IC values of 15.27 and 2.41 µM, respectively. Topical application of the crude oil on excision wounds showed a significant ( < 0.05) increase in the wound healing rate in comparison to the untreated and Mebo-treated groups, where fish oil increased the TGF-β1 expression, down-regulated TNF-, and IL-1β. Accordingly, Peters' elephant-nose fish oil may be a potential alternative medication helping wound healing owing to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities.