Abstract

EVALUATION OF THE NATURAL COMPOUNDS FROM CURCUMA LONGA BY IN-SILICO APPROACH IN THE TREATMENT OF OESOPHAGEAL CARCINOMA

Jewel Alam*

ABSTRACT

Background: Oesophageal carcinoma is a type of cancer of the esophagus and is most common in Western countries. The overexpression of many signaling pathways is responsible for the progression of the disease. Due to increased drug resistance, scientists have been searching for compounds from natural sources for the last few years. Many natural compounds from the plant Curcuma longa have therapeutic effects on several diseases. The main three natural compounds of Curcuma longa are Curcumin, Bisdemethoxycurcumin, and Demethoxycurcumin. In this research study, the molecular docking technique determined the interactions between these three natural compounds and the important upstream protein kinases like PI3Kδ, PDK1, Akt, and mTOR of the PI3K /Akt/mTOR signaling pathway. Results: The natural compounds from Curcuma longa like Bisdemethoxycurcumin, Demethoxycurcumin, and Curcumin showed good interactions with the important amino acids of the binding site of the protein kinases of the PI3K/Akt /mTOR signaling pathway and they showed a good binding affinity towards the active site of the proteins. The maximum binding affinity with the important first protein kinase PI3Kδ was shown by Bisdemethoxycurcumin and it has shown the hydrogen bond interactions of the important amino acids like Val 828, and Lys 779 of the active site of PI3Kδ. Conclusion: On the basis of the molecular docking studies, compound Bisdemethoxycurcumin showed the greatest binding affinity toward the active sites of the proteins of PI3k/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway followed by Demethoxycurcumin and Curcumin thus these compounds can be developed as potential compounds for the treatment of Oesophageal carcinoma.

Keywords: Oesophageal carcinoma, Curcuma longa, Bisdemethoxycurcumin, Demethoxycurcumin, Curcumin.