Identifying potential PPARγ agonist/partial agonist from plant molecules to control type 2 diabetes using in silico and in vivo models

In Silico Screening of Therapeutic Targets as a Tool to Optimize the Development of Drugs and Nutraceuticals in the Treatment of Diabetes mellitus: A Systematic Review

The Target-Based Virtual Screening approach is widely employed in drug development, with docking or molecular dynamics techniques commonly utilized for this purpose. This systematic review (SR) aimed to identify in silico therapeutic targets for treating Diabetes mellitus (DM) and answer the question: What therapeutic targets have been used in in silico analyses for the treatment of DM? The SR was developed following the guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items Checklist for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis, in accordance with the protocol registered in PROSPERO (CRD42022353808). Studies that met the PECo strategy (Problem, Exposure, Context) were included using the following databases: Medline (PubMed), Web of Science, Scopus, Embase, ScienceDirect, and Virtual Health Library. A total of 20 articles were included, which not only identified therapeutic targets in silico but also conducted in vivo analyses to validate the obtained results. The therapeutic targets most frequently indicated in in silico studies were GLUT4, DPP-IV, and PPARγ. In conclusion, a diversity of targets for the treatment of DM was verified through both in silico and in vivo reassessment. This contributes to the discovery of potential new allies for the treatment of DM.

Role of Plant Derived Products Through Exhilarating Peroxisome Proliferator Activated Receptor-γ (ppar-γ) in the Amelioration of Obesity Induced Insulin Resistance

Abstract:

Insulin resistance is an elemental facet of the etiology of diabetes mellitus and the principal relating factor between obesity and diabetes. Oxidative stress, lipotoxicity, inflammation and receptor dysfunction are the underlying determinants of insulin resistance commencement in metabolic illnesses. ppar-γ is a nuclear transcription factor whose activation or inhibition directly influences insulin resistance and controls glucose and lipid homeostasis by modulating gene expression. Synthetic ligands of ppar-γ are therapeutically employed to counter the hyper-glycaemia associated with obesity and type 2 diabetes, but they possess severe side effects. In the modern era, bioactive phytochemicals have been employed in the drug development process and a considerable investigation has recently been initiated to analyze the ppar-γ activating ability of diverse phytochemicals. In this review, we outlined the role of phytochemicals in insulin resistance treatment through ppar-γ activation.

Botanical Interventions to Improve Glucose Control and Options for Diabetes Therapy

Diabetes mellitus is a major public health problem worldwide. This endocrine disease is clustered into distinct subtypes based on the route of development, with the most common forms associated with either autoimmunity (T1DM) or obesity (T2DM). A shared hallmark of both major forms of diabetes is a reduction in function (insulin secretion) or mass (cell number) of the pancreatic islet beta-cell. Diminutions in both mass and function are often present. A wide assortment of plants have been used historically to reduce the pathological features associated with diabetes. In this review, we provide an organized viewpoint focused around the phytochemicals and herbal extracts investigated using various preclinical and clinical study designs. In some cases, crude extracts were examined directly, and in others, purified compounds were explored for their possible therapeutic efficacy. A subset of these studies compared the botanical product with standard of care prescribed drugs. Finally, we note that botanical formulations are likely suspects for future drug discovery and refinement into class(es) of compounds that have either direct or adjuvant therapeutic benefit.

Natural Compound 3β,7β,25-trihydroxycucurbita-5,23(E)-dien-19-al from Momordica charantia Acts as PPARγ Ligand

Momordica charantia is a popular vegetable associated with effective complementary and alternative diabetes management in some parts of the world. However, the molecular mechanism is less commonly investigated. In this study, we investigated the association between a major cucurbitane triterpenoid isolated from M. charantia, 3β,7β,25-trihydroxycucurbita-5,23(E)-dien-19-al (THCB) and peroxisome proliferator activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) activation and its related activities using cell culture and molecular biology techniques. In this study, we report on both M. charantia fruit crude extract and THCB in driving the luciferase activity of Peroxisome Proliferator Response Element, associated with PPARγ activation. Other than that, THCB also induced adipocyte differentiation at far less intensity as compared to the full agonist rosiglitazone. In conjunction, THCB treatment on adipocytes also resulted in upregulation of PPAR gamma target genes expression; AP2, adiponectin, LPL and CD34 at a lower magnitude compared to rosiglitazone's induction. THCB also induced glucose uptake into muscle cells and the mechanism is via Glut4 translocation to the cell membrane. In conclusion, THCB acts as one of the many components in M. charantia to induce hypoglycaemic effect by acting as PPARγ ligand and inducing glucose uptake activity in the muscles by means of Glut4 translocation.

Anti-methanogenic effect of rhubarb (Rheum spp.) - An in silico docking studies on methyl-coenzyme M reductase (MCR)

The present study explored anti-methanogenic properties of rhubarb compounds using in silico analysis on methyl-coenzyme M reductase (MCR) for identifying its anti-methanogen mechanism. To identify pharmacokinetics of 35 compounds from rhubarb, molecular docking and ADME analysis were performed against MCR using AutoDockVina, FAFDrugs3 and PROTOX programs. Docking results successfully indicated three possible candidate compounds 9,10-anthracenedione, 1,8-dihydroxy-3-methyl (−6.92 kcal/mol); phthalic acid isobutyl octadecyl ester (−5.26 kcal/mol); and diisooctyl phthalate (−5.61 kcal/mol) showed minimum binding energy (kcal/mol) with the target protein MCR which catalyze the biosynthesis of rumen methane. In conclusion, the identified compounds showed the most docking fitness score against the target methyl-coenzyme M reductase and the decrease in ruminal methane emission by rhubarb might be a result of these compounds by inhibition of methanogenesis.