Molecular docking analysis of PPARγ with phytochemicals from Moroccan medicinal plants

PPARγ agonists play a crucial role in regulating metabolic homeostasis for treating type-2 diabetes (T2D). Due to the adverse side effects associated with thiazolidinediones, a class of PPARγ agonists, there is a growing interest in identifying natural compounds from medicinal plants that have the potential to bind PPARγ. In this study, we extensively investigated Moroccan phytochemicals using computational structure-based screening with the crystal structure of the PPARγ ligand-binding domain (PDB ID: 7awc) to discover novel phytochemicals targeting PPARγ. The docking results of 540 Moroccan phytochemicals were integrated into online databases for further exploitation through in-depth studies. Drug-likeness analysis was performed to assess the phytochemicals drug-like properties. Two promising phytochemicals, 3,4-dicaffeoylquinic acid and Chlorogenic acid, were identified, both exhibiting high docking affinity and unique binding site interactions compared to the established PPARγ full agonist, rosiglitazone. Molecular dynamics simulations of 100 ns were conducted to examine the stability of the complexes formed by both compounds within the PPARγ active site, and their dynamic behavior was compared to the reference structure of PPARγ alone and with rosiglitazone. Binding free energy calculations demonstrated that 3,4-dicaffeoylquinic acid and Chlorogenic acid exhibited higher binding free energy than the reference agonist, suggesting their potential as candidates for experimental validation in future drug discovery efforts targeting PPARγ for the treatment of T2D and metabolic syndrome.