Honey-iQfood is an herbal supplement made of a mixture of polyherbal extracts and wild honey. The mixture is traditionally claimed to improve various conditions related to brain cells and functions including dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Glycogen synthase kinase-3 beta (GSK-3β) and cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (CDK5) have been identified as being involved in the pathological hyperphosphorylation of tau proteins, which leads to the formation of neurofibrillary tangles and causes Alzheimer's disease. Therefore, this study was conducted to confirm the traditional claims by detection of active compounds, namely curcumin, gallic acid, catechin, rosmarinic acid, and andrographolide in the raw materials of Honey-iQfood through HPLC analysis, molecular docking, and dynamic simulations. Two potential compounds, andrographolide, and rosmarinic acid, produced the best binding affinities following the molecular docking of the active compounds against the GSK-3β and CDK5 targets. Andrographolide binds with GSK-3β at -8.2 kcal/mol, whereas rosmarinic acid binds to CDK5 targets at -8.6 kcal/mol. Molecular dynamics was further carried out to confirm the docking results and clarify their dynamic properties such as RMSD, RMSF, rGyr, SASA, PSA, and binding free energy. CDK5-andrographolide complexes had the best MM-GBSA score (-83.63 kcal/mol) compared to other complexes, indicating the better interaction profile and stability of the complex. These findings warrant further research into andrographolide and rosmarinic acid as efficient inhibitors of tau protein hyperphosphorylation to verify their therapeutic potential in brain-related illnesses.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
Common treatments for the management of diabetes have limitations due to side effects, hence the need for continuous research to discover new remedies with better therapeutic efficacy. Previously, we have reported that the combination treatment of gallic acid (20 mg/kg) and andrographolide (10 mg/kg) for 15 days demonstrated synergistic hypoglycemic activity in the streptozotocin (STZ)-induced insulin-deficient diabetes rat model. Here, we attempt to further elucidate the effect of this combination therapy at the biochemical, histological and molecular levels. Our biochemical analyses showed that the combination treatment significantly increased the serum insulin level and decreased the total cholesterol and triglyceride level of the diabetic animals. Histological examinations of H&E stained pancreas, liver, kidney and adipose tissues of combination-treated diabetic animals showed restoration to the normalcy of the tissues. Besides, the combination treatment significantly enhanced the level of glucose transporter-4 (GLUT4) protein expression in the skeletal muscle of treated diabetic animals compared to single compound treated and untreated diabetic animals. The molecular docking analysis on the interaction of gallic acid and/or andrographolide with the adiponectin receptor 1 (AdipoR1), a key component in the regulation of pancreatic insulin secretion, revealed a greater binding affinity of AdipoR1 to both compounds compared to individual compounds. Taken together, these findings suggest the combination of gallic acid and andrographolide as a potent therapy for the management of diabetes mellitus.
Phospholipase A2 (Pla2) is an enzyme that induces inflammation, making Pla2 activity an effective approach to reduce inflammation. Therefore, investigating natural compounds for this Pla2 inhibitory activity has important therapeutic potential. The objective of this study was to investigate the potential in bromelain-phytochemical complex inhibitors via a combination of in silico and in vitro methods. Bromelain-amenthoflavone displays antagonistic effects on Pla2. Bromelian-asiaticoside and bromelain-diosgenin displayed synergistic effects at high concentrations of the combined compounds, with inhibition percentages of more than 70% and 90%, respectively, and antagonistic effects at low concentrations. The synergistic effect of the bromelain-asiaticoside and bromelain-diosgenin combinations represents a new application in treating inflammation. These findings not only provide significant quantitative data, but also provide an insight on valuable implications for the combined use of bromelain with asiaticoside and diosgenin in treating inflammation, and may help researchers develop more natural bioactive compounds in daily foods as anti-inflammatory agent.