Evaluation of In Silico Anti-parkinson Potential of β-asarone

Parkinson's disease is affecting millions of people worldwide. The prevalence of Parkinson's disease is 0.3% globally, rising to 1% in more than 60 years of age and 4% in more than 80 years of age and the figures are thought to be doubled by 2030. Thus, there is a great need to identify novel therapeutic strategies or candidate drug molecule which can rescue neuronal degeneration. β -asarone has the potential to act as a neuroprotective agent but regarding its role in Parkinson's disease, very few reports are available. Thus, this study was undertaken to unlock the potential of β-asarone against Parkinson's disease.

The Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, and Excretion (ADME) analysis has been done by using Swiss ADME Predictor. The interactions of β-asarone with dopaminergic receptors were investigated by Glide Program 5.0. The crystal structures of dopamine receptors were retrieved from Research Collaboratory for Structural Bioinformatics- Protein Data Bank (RCSB-PDB). The structure of β-asarone was drawn in Chem Draw Ultra 7.0.1. Finally, the toxicity of β-asarone has been predicted by using online web-servers like Lazar and Protox.

The ADME data of current investigation has shown good oral bioavailability of β-asarone. It also showed a good binding affinity towards dopaminergic receptors. Further, it was found to be interacting through hydrogen bond with different amino acid residues of D2 and D3 receptors. However, β-asarone was predicted to be toxic in various species of rodents, as per the results of toxicity online web servers.

Based on the current finding from ADME and docking studies, these preliminary results may act as effective precursor tool for the development of β-asarone as a promising anti-Parkinson agent. However, furthermore experimental validation using in-vitro & in-vivo studies is needed to explore their therapeutic andtoxic effects.