bioRxiv Science⌕ Search

bioRxiv · 10.1101/2022.09.22.509042

In-silico and in-vitro evaluation of anti-oxidant and anti-hypertensive activities of Chenopodium ambrosoides LINN. ethanol leaf extract

Abstract

Oxidative stress and free radicals have been implicated in ethno-pathogenesis of hypertension and cardiovascular disease. C. ambrosoides Linn. is a popular plant used in the management of oxidative stress related diseases such as hypertension and obesity in Nigeria and West African countries; however, studies validating the antioxidant and antihypertensive potential of this plant is scanty in literature. Thus, this study was designed to investigate the antioxidant and antihypertensive activities of C. ambrosoides ethanolic leaf extract using in-vitro (vis-a-vis) DPPH free radical scavenging assay, nitric oxide radical inhibition assay, lipid peroxidation inhibition assay, ferric reducing power assay and angiotensin converting enzyme inhibition assay) and in-silico (Molecular docking) techniques and results analyzed using GraphPad prism8 software and Multiple test as criteria for statistical comparison and significance. Gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GCMS) analysis was employed to identify constituent bioactive compounds in the extract. The results of the in-vitro anti-oxidants assays show dose dependent inhibition with the highest activity observed at 2.5 mg/ml. The ferric reducing power activity of the extract significantly (P<0.05) shows higher activity than the ascorbic acid standard at all concentration with the highest activity observed at 2.5mg/ml (77.030% against 69.159%). The extract significantly scavenged DPPH radical than ascorbic acid standard at 2.5mg/ml (81.161% against 75.378%), however at low concentration (1.5mg/ml-0.5mg/ml) the standard shows higher activity than the extract, however dose dependence was maintained. Ascorbic acid standard significantly shows higher activity than the extracts lipid peroxidation inhibition and nitric oxide inhibition activity at all concentration. The extract exhibited high angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibited in a dose dependent manner with the highest activity at 2.5mg/ml (95.990%). The ACE inhibitory potential of C. ambrosoides extract was corroborated by in-silico studies which revealed that 14 out of the 96 identified bioactive compounds through GCMS exhibited higher negative binding affinities than lisinopril (-6.8 Kcal/mol), with the compound 2,4-Diamino-6,8-bis[3,4-dichlorophenyl]-5,6-dihydro-8H-thiapyrano[4,34,5]thieno[2,3d]pyrimidine having the highest binding affinity (-8.0Kcal/mol) In conclusion, it is suggested that the anti-hypertensive activity demonstrated by C. ambrosoides might be mediated via its anti-oxidant ability and ACE inhibitory potential.

Explore related subjects

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Olaniyi, A. c., Oluwatobi, O. A., Oluwabunmi, A. T.. 2022-09-23. In-silico and in-vitro evaluation of anti-oxidant and anti-hypertensive activities of Chenopodium ambrosoides LINN. ethanol leaf extract. https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.09.22.509042

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related preprints

Hierarchical cysteine oxidation controls reversible amyloid formation in an ankyrin repeat protein

The formation of amyloids, including functional amyloids, is observed for an increasing number of proteins but the molecular mechanisms that control this structural transition remain poorly understood. Here we report that the kinase inhibitor protein P18 (drP18) from Danio rerio (zebrafish), which contains two cysteine residues, undergoes a complex and hierarchical redox switch that strictly governs reversible amyloid formation. We identify cysteine 50 (C50) acting as a regulatory residue. Upon oxidation, C50 forms an intramolecular disulfide bond with the executioner cysteine 128 (C128), thereby blocking it. C50 can become S-glutathionylated, and upon oxidation, C128 then forms intermolecular disulfides that lead to rapid transition into amyloid fibrils. S-glutathionylation of C50 therefore enables amyloid formation of drP18 and the outcome is oxidant-dependent with diamide, hydrogen peroxide, peroxymonocarbonate and hypothiocyanous acid each leading to amyloid assembly with distinct kinetics and morphologies. These amyloids are fully reversible, where disulfide reduction is leading to disassembly. Whereas monomeric drP18 inhibits CDK4-mediated retinoblastoma phosphorylation, the amyloid conformation abolishes this inhibition, and reduction restores both structure and function. Expression of drP18 in zebrafish embryos yields Congo red-positive, oxidation-dependent aggregates in vivo. Together, our findings show that a regulatory cysteine controls an executioner cysteine to induce reversible, functional amyloid formation, revealing that proteins can encode sophisticated mechanisms to control amyloid assembly.

biochemistry↗

Snapshots from the Catalytic Landscape of Chalcone Isomerase

Chalcone isomerase (CHI) catalyzes the cyclization of 3-ring scaffolds of flavonoids, a class of plant-based natural products important for nutrition and disease prevention. A persistent question has been whether the enzyme uses dynamics to facilitate conformational rearrangements of substrates within the active site. To help resolve this question, CHI was crystallized with phloretin, a flexible substrate analogue that cannot undergo cyclization. The crystal structure possesses eight protein molecules per asymmetric unit, revealing different active site conformations that accommodate different bound conformers of phloretin. Together, the structural snapshots depict a series of coordinated, dynamic chemical interactions that lower barriers to substrate rearrangements approaching bond formation. Differential scanning fluorimetry combined with mutational analysis and enzyme kinetics further confirm that phloretin binds to the enzyme active site and that it acts as a competitive inhibitor of CHI. Together these findings answer outstanding questions about the flexibility and dynamics of CHI catalysis, information that may be useful for future biosynthetic design and enzyme engineering goals. Overall, this work supports a catalytic model in which the CHI enzyme operates as a dynamic ensemble of structures necessary to facilitate catalytic substrate rearrangements.

biochemistry↗

Structures of pUG-fold RNA bound to DNMT1 reveal a mechanism for RNA-mediated epigenetic regulation

Many chromatin-associated proteins have been found to bind RNA as a means of epigenetic regulation. Specifically, DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1), which maintains cytosine methylation at CpG dinucleotides, is inhibited by RNA at transcribed DNA loci in cells. However, the mechanisms by which RNA binds DNMT1 and inhibits its activity remain unknown. Here, we determine a series of cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) structures of human DNMT1 bound to pUG-fold RNA, a non-canonical G-quadruplex previously observed to inhibit activity, revealing two distinct RNA-binding modes. The pUG-fold RNA binds the surface of DNMT1 in its autoinhibited conformation across a positively charged surface between the methyltransferase domain and the CXXC domain, and it binds directly in the active site of an open DNMT1 conformation. RNA binding is sterically incompatible with substrate DNA engagement in both states. Our 2.5 [A] structure captures the intricate network of hydrogen bonds and electrostatic interactions between amino acids in the methyltransferase domain and the tetrad layers of pUG-fold RNA. Metadynamics molecular dynamics simulations provide an orthogonal view of the conformational landscape of DNMT1, revealing the two distinct RNA-binding modes. Furthermore, our analysis of published DNMT1 RIP-seq and eCLIP-seq data confirms that DNMT1-interacting RNAs in cells exhibit a strong propensity to form non-canonical G-quadruplex RNA structures. Collectively, our study provides the first structural basis for pUG-fold RNA recognition by a protein and illustrates how cryo-EM and AI-based methods for protein and RNA structure prediction synergize to inform the mechanism of RNA-mediated regulation of DNMT1.

biochemistry↗