Interaction of Natural Compounds in Licorice and Turmeric with HIV-NCp7 Zinc Finger Domain: Potential Relevance to the Mechanism of Antiviral Activity

Curcumae Rhizoma: A botanical drug against infectious diseases

Curcumae Rhizoma is the dry rhizome coming from Curcuma longa L. which grow widely in tropical south and southwest Asia. It has been used to treat conditions such as dermatoses, infections, stress, and depression. Moreover, in China, Curcumae Rhizoma and its active constituents have been made into different pharmaceutical preparations. Growing evidence suggests that these preparations can exert antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer effects, which may play crucial roles in the treatment of various diseases, including cancer, infectious-, autoimmune-, neurological-, and cardiovascular diseases, as well as diabetes. The anti-infective effect of Curcumae Rhizoma has become a popular field of research around the world, including for the treatment of COVID-19, influenza virus, hepatitis B virus, human immunodeficiency virus, and human papilloma virus, among others. In this paper, the basic characteristics of Curcumae Rhizoma and its active constituents are briefly introduced, and we also give an overview on their applications and mechanisms in infectious diseases.

Revisiting liquorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra L.) as anti-inflammatory, antivirals and immunomodulators: Potential pharmacological applications with mechanistic insight

BACKGROUND

Glycyrrhiza glabra L. (G. glabra) commonly known as liquorice is one of the highly exploited and utilized medicinal plant of the world. Since ancient times liquorice is considered as an auspicious and valuable traditional medicine across the world for treatment of various ailments.

METHOD

Several electronic online scientific databases such as Science Direct, PubMed, Scopus, Scifinder, Google Scholar, online books and reports were assessed for collecting information. All the collected information was classified into different sections to meet the objective of the paper.

RESULTS

The electronic database search yielded 3908 articles from different countries. Out of them one ninety-eight articles published between 1956 and 2021 were included, corresponding to all detailed review on G. glabra and research on anti-inflammatories, antivirals and immunomodulatory through pre-clinical and clinical models. From all selective area of studies on G. glabra and its bioactive components it was established (including molecular mechanisms) as a suitable remedy as per the current requirement of pandemic situation arise through respiratory tract infection.

CONCLUSION

Different relevant studies have been thoroughly reviewed to gain an insight on utility of liquorice and its bioactive constituents for anti-inflammatories, antivirals and immunomodulatory effects with special emphasized for prevention and treatment of COVID-19 infection with possible mechanism of action at molecular level. Proposed directions for future research are also outlined to encourage researchers to find out various mechanistic targets and useful value added products of liquorice in future investigations.

Interaction between Curcumin and β-Casein: Multi-Spectroscopic and Molecular Dynamics Simulation Methods

Effect of temperature and pH on the interaction of curcumin with β-casein was explored by fluorescence spectroscopy, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy and molecular dynamics simulation. The spectroscopic results showed that curcumin could bind to β-casein to form a complex which was driven mainly by electrostatic interaction. The intrinsic fluorescence of β-casein was quenched by curcumin through static quenching mechanism. The binding constants of curcumin to β-casein were 6.48 × 10⁴ L/mol (298 K), 6.17 × 10⁴ L/mol (305 K) and 5.73 × 10⁴ L/mol (312 K) at pH 2.0, which was greater than that (3.98 × 10⁴ L/mol at 298 K, 3.90 × 10⁴ L/mol at 305 K and 3.41 × 10⁴ L/mol at 312 K) at pH 7.4. Molecular docking study showed that binding energy of β-casein-curcumin complex at pH 2.0 (−7.53 kcal/mol) was lower than that at pH 7.4 (−7.01 kcal/mol). The molecular dynamics simulation study showed that the binding energy (−131.07 kJ/mol) of β-casein-curcumin complex was relatively low at pH 2.0 and 298 K. α-Helix content in β-casein was decreased and random coil content was increased in the presence of curcumin. These results can promote a deep understanding of interaction between curcumin and β-casein and provide a reference for improving the bioavailability of curcumin.