Investigation of the Potential Antidiabetic Effect of Zygophyllum Sp. by Studying the Interaction of its Chemical Compounds with Alpha-Amylase and DPP-4 Enzymes using a Molecular Docking Approach

Background: Diabetes type II is one of the most serious metabolic diseases in the world attracting the attention of many researchers who predict that diabetes will be one of the top major causes of disability or death in the coming few decades. To tackle this disease several classes of synthetic molecules were developed to target certain enzymes that are involved in sugar metabolism. Herbal extracts targeting diabetes have witnessed renascence in the last few decades with the introduction of highly effective herbal remedies that effectively regulate sugar levels in the blood. Methods: In this work, we studied the interaction of molecules from the Zygophyllum sp. with the main enzymes involved in sugar metabolism (alpha-amylase and DPP-4) using Molecular Operating Environment (MOE) as a molecular docking technique. The choice of Zygophyllum sp. was based on an ethnopharmacological local survey. Results: The obtained results showed that myristic acid gave the best score equal to -7.5471 Kcal/mol for alpha-amylase and -9.0457 Kcal/mol for DPP-4. Palmitic acid also gave a good score equal to - 7.4528 Kcal/mol with DPP-4. Conclusion: The calculated scores of molecules from Zygophyllum sp. were better than those calculated with the known inhibitors. The results demonstrated that many molecules showed good affinity to two important enzymes involved in type II diabetes, suggesting that these molecules may possess potential hypoglycemic and antidiabetic effects. These results added further scientific evidence supporting the folk use of Zygophyllum sp. in targeting diabetes and suggested its potential as a valuable source of antidiabetic drug leads.