Bisbenzylisoquinolines from Cissampelos pareira L. as antimalarial agents: Molecular docking, pharmacokinetics analysis, and molecular dynamic simulation studies

Abstract

Malaria is a major global health issue due to the emergence of resistance to most of the available antimalarial drugs. There is an urgent need to discover new antimalarials to tackle the resistance issue. The present study aims to explore the antimalarial potential of chemical constituents reported from Cissampelos pareira L., a medicinal plant traditionally known for treating malaria. Phytochemically, benzylisoquinolines and bisbenzylisoquinolines are the major classes of alkaloids reported from this plant. In silico molecular docking revealed prominent interactions of bisbenzylisoquinolines such as hayatinine and curine with Pfdihydrofolate reductase (−6.983 Kcal/mol and −6.237 Kcal/mol), PfcGMP-dependent protein kinase (−6.652 Kcal/mol and −7.158 Kcal/mol), and Pfprolyl-tRNA synthetase (−7.569 Kcal/mol and −7.122 Kcal/mol). The binding affinity of hayatinine and curine with identified antimalarial targets was further evaluated using MD-simulation analysis. Among the identified antimalarial targets, the RMSD, RMSF, the radius of gyration, and PCA indicated the formation of stable complexes of hayatinine and curine with Pfprolyl-tRNA synthetase. The outcomes of in silico investigation putatively suggested that bisbenzylisoquinolines may act on the translation of the Plasmodium parasite to exhibit antimalarial potency.