Antidiabetic, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory effects of <i>Artemisia afra</i> herbal infusion in iron-induced testicular injury

Artemisia afra (A. afra) has been used since ancient times in traditional medicine. The current study explored the effect of this medicinal herb on antidiabetic activity and oxidative stress-induced testicular dysfunction, incorporating experimental (in vitro and ex vivo) and computational models.The A. afra infusion demonstrated effectiveness in neutralising the DPPH, NO and OH• radicals. The infusion dose-dependently inhibited α-amylase, α-glucosidase, lipase, and protein denaturation. The addition of FeSO4 reduced (p < 0.05) superoxide dismutase, glutathione, catalase and ecto-nucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolase enzyme activity with a concomitant increase in malondialdehyde, myeloperoxidase, nitric oxide and adenosine triphosphatase activity in the testicular tissues. Treatment with the infusion reversed FeSO4-induced changes of these biomarkers. Phytochemical screening detected the compounds dihydroarteannuin B, homoeriodictyol, apigenin, artesunate, thujone, dibenzenesulfonamide, and acacetin. Molecular docking and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation studies revealed that the compounds had favourable binding affinities and stable interactions with the enzymes. Overall, the findings suggest that A. afra infusion may serve as a promising herbal approach for supporting testicular function and metabolic regulation in T2D.