BackgroundThe physiological functions of the testis and spleen can be affected through several cellular and molecular mechanisms such as the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that causes oxidative stress. This study aimed at investigating the protective effect of catechin, quercetin, and taxifolin in rotenone-induced testicular and splenetic toxicity.MethodsMale Wistar rats were administered with 1.5 mg/kg rotenone (s.c.) for 10 days followed by post-treatment with catechin (5, 10, or 20 mg/kg), quercetin (5, 10, or 20 mg/kg), and taxifolin (0.25, 0.5, or 1.0 mg/kg) for 3 days (s.c.), followed by estimation of biochemical markers of oxidative stress, inflammatory activities, and tissue damage in testes and spleen.ResultsExposure of rats to rotenone caused reduced body weight gain, increased organ weight, decreased glutathione level and activities of glutathione transferase and superoxide dismutase, enhanced lipid peroxidation, and increased activities of prooxidant/proinflammatory enzymes and lactate dehydrogenase, which were mitigated by post-treatment with flavonoids. In general, quercetin and taxifolin showed better activity than catechin.ConclusionsCatechin, quercetin, and taxifolin ameliorated rotenone-induced weight disturbances and oxidative damage in rats, indicating their potential relevance in toxicant and pesticide-induced tissue injury.
Background:
he recent outbreak of Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) which has rapidly spread around the world in about three months with tens of thousands of deaths recorded so far is a global concern. An urgent need for potential therapeutic intervention is of necessity. Mpro is an attractive druggable target for the development of anti-COVID-19 drug development. Compounds previously characterized from Melissa officinalis were queried against main protease of coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 using computational approach.
Results:
Melitric acid A and salvanolic acid A had higher affinity than lopinavir and ivermectin using both AutodockVina and XP docking algorithms. The computational approach was employed in the generation of QSAR model using automated QSAR, and in the docking of ligands from Melissa officinalis with SARS-CoV-2 Mpro inhibitors. The best model obtained was KPLS_Radial_28 (R2 = 0.8548 and Q2=0.6474, and was used in predicting the bioactivity of the lead compounds. Molecular mechanics based MM-GBSA confirmed salvanolic acid A as the compound with the highest free energy and predicted bioactivity of 4.777; it interacted with His-41 of the catalytic dyad (Cys145-His41) of SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro), as this may hinder the cutting of inactive viral protein into active ones capable of replication.
Conclusion:
Salvanolic acid A can be further evaluated as potential Mpro inhibitor.
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