Bioactive Phytocompounds: Anti-amyloidogenic Effects Against Hen Egg-White Lysozyme Aggregation

Area of Science:

• Biochemistry
• Pharmacology
• Molecular Biology

Background:

• Amyloidosis involves protein aggregation linked to neurodegenerative diseases and type II diabetes.
• Natural phytocompounds, like curcumin, show promise in combating amyloid formation.
• Identifying effective anti-amyloidogenic agents is crucial for therapeutic development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the anti-amyloidogenic activity of selected phytocompounds: piperine, cinnamaldehyde, eugenol, and cuminaldehyde.
• To investigate piperine's efficacy using hen egg white-lysozyme (HEWL) as a model system.
• To validate findings through in vitro assays and in silico molecular docking.

Main Methods:

• In vitro assays including Thioflavin T, Congo Red, and intrinsic fluorescence.
• Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) for structural analysis.
• In silico molecular docking to assess binding interactions with amyloidogenic regions.

Main Results:

• Piperine demonstrated the most significant anti-amyloidogenic activity among the tested compounds.
• Piperine inhibited amyloid formation by 64.7% at 50 μM concentration.
• Molecular docking revealed strong binding interactions of piperine with key residues like Trp62.

Conclusions:

• Piperine exhibits potent anti-amyloidogenic properties, validated by multiple assays and computational studies.
• Piperine effectively targets critical residues involved in the amyloidogenesis process.
• Piperine serves as a promising therapeutic lead for diseases associated with amyloid formation.