In silico molecular docking studies of some phytochemicals against peroxisome-proliferator activated receptor gamma (PPAR-γ)

Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor-γ (PPAR-γ) is a ligand-activated transcription factor and a member of the nuclear receptor superfamily that regulate the gene expression of proteins involved in glucose, lipid metabolism, adipocyte proliferation and differentiation and insulin sensitivity. Thiazolidinediones (TZDs) are one important class of synthetic agonists of PPAR-γ. TZDs are antidiabetic agents that target adipose tissue and improve insulin sensitivity, and they are currently being used in the treatment of type 2 diabetes. The study was carried out in order to discover new phytochemicals that have the ability to stimulate the PPAR-γ using molecular docking studies. AutoDock vina was used as molecular-docking tool in order to carry out the docking simulations. Nine phytochemicals namely plumbagin, quercetin, isovitexin, mangiferin, syringin, lupe-20-ene-3-one, purine 2, 6-dione, diosmetin and β sitosterol and pioglitazone a standard drug were docked against PPAR-γ using AutoDock vina and the results were analyzed using binding affinity. The results revealed that the compounds have significant binding affinity towards the PPAR-γ comparable to pioglitazone the standard drug. Based on the findings of this study these phytochemicals can serve as source of antidiabetic drugs via the mechanism of inhibition of PPAR-γ.