Muhammad Fikri Heikal, Wira Eka Putra, Sustiprijatno, Arief Hidayatullah, Diana Widiastuti, Mardiana Lelitawati
[Objective] Plasmodium vivax predominantly infects many people in numerous tropical areas, including Southeast Asia, the Western Pacific, the Americas, and the Eastern Mediterranean.The uniqueness of forming dormant stages can lead to relapse in vivax malaria upon further infection. This study used molecular docking and dynamic simulation to predict potential bioactive compounds from the Zingiberaceae plant family as inhibitors by targeting Plasmodium vivax Duffy Binding Protein (PvDBP). PvDBP-DARC molecular interaction is required to mediate the merozoite invasion process into red blood cells. Inhibiting this process can possibly control parasite growth and development. [Methodology] Molecular docking screening was conducted by using 138 natural compounds from the Zingiberaceae plant family targeting Plasmodium vivax Duffy binding protein (PvDBP). The top two compounds with the lowest binding energy were selected to be analyzed by pharmacokinetics prediction and molecular dynamic (MD) simulation. [Results] Molecular docking screening resulted in the top two compounds with the lowest binding energy value, including 5,7-dihydroxyflavanone (-9.3 kcal/mol) and pinostrobin (-9.2 kcal/mol). These compounds are predicted to have stronger interaction than chloroquine as a control. Furthermore, the potential compounds also interact with DARC binding site residues and maintain them during the molecular dynamic simulation process. Otherwise, chloroquine as a control cannot retain 75% binding residues towards PvDBP. A molecular dynamic study revealed that all three complexes have relatively similar stability. [Conclusions] We predicted that the two bioactive compounds (5,7-dihydroxyflavanone and pinostrobin) have the potential as merozoite invasion inhibitors. © 2024 Universidad Nacional. All rights reserved.
Department of Biology, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Negeri Malang, East Java, Indonesia; Biotechnology Study Program, Department of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Negeri Malang, East Java, Indonesia; Research Center for Applied Botany, National Research and Innovation Agency, West Java, Indonesia; Health Governance Initiative, United Nations Development Programme Indonesia, Eijkman-RSCM Building, Jakarta, Indonesia; Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Science, Universitas Pakuan, West Java, Indonesia