Liver fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase
(FBPase) is a recognized regulatory
enzyme of the gluconeogenesis pathway, which has emerged as a valid
target to control gluconeogenesis-mediated overproduction of glucose.
As such, the management of diabetes with FBPase inhibitors represents
a potential alternative for the currently used antidiabetic agents.
In this study, the FBPase inhibition of a panel of 55 structurally
related flavonoids was tested, through a microanalysis screening system.
Then, a subset of seven active inhibitors and their close chemical
relatives were further evaluated by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations
using a linear interaction energy (LIE) approach. The results obtained
showed that D14 (herbacetin) was the most potent inhibitor,
suggesting that the presence of −OH groups at the C-3, C-4′,
C-5, C-7, and C-8 positions, as well as the double bond between C-2
and C-3 and the 4-oxo function at the pyrone ring, are favorable for
the intended effect. Furthermore, D14 (herbacetin) is
stabilized by a strong interaction with the Glu30 side chain and the
Thr24 backbone of FBPase. This is the first investigation studying
the in vitro inhibitory effect of a panel of flavonoids against human
liver FBPase, thus representing a potentially important step for the
search and design of novel inhibitors of this enzyme.