Combination of curcumin from curcuma longa and procyanidin from tamarindus indica in inhibiting cyclooxygenases for primary dysmenorrhea therapy: In silico study

Abstract

Turmeric (Curcuma longa) and Tamarind (Tamarindus indica) are known for the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity. The major bioactive compound found in turmeric is curcumin, and tamarind is procyanidin. Both compounds could reduce prostaglandin concentration, leading to the reduction of primary dysmenorrhea by inhibiting COXs. This study aims to identify the interaction of tamarind and turmeric bioactive compounds as single isolated compound and complex compounds to COXs using in silico as a model study. Proteins and bioactive compounds were obtained from PDB database and Pubchem, respectively. Both proteins and ligands will be prepared using Discovery Studio Client 3.5 and PyRx 0.8. The interaction will be performed by docking using Autodock Vina in PyRx 0.8. It showed that turmeric and tamarind bioactive compounds in single isolated form have potency in inhibiting COX-1/COX-2, and both ligands bind to the catalytic site of proteins. Binding sites are surrounding the binding site of the natural substrate with an efficient binding affinity. In the complex form of turmeric-tamarind, the binding affinity is not as efficient as single compounds. However, its complex form of both compounds provides strong inhibition. This study suggested that complex forms of curcumin and procyanidin can reduce prostaglandin concentration and stabilize protein-ligand interaction lead to healing dysmenorrhea.