Study on the interaction of catechins with human serum albumin using spectroscopic and electrophoretic techniques

Abstract

The interaction between eight naturally occurring flavanols (catechin, epicatechin, gallocatechin, epigallocatechin, catechin gallate, epicatechin gallate, gallocatechin gallate, and epigallocatechin gallate) and human serum albumin (HSA) has been investigated by spectroscopic (fluorescence quenching and UV–Vis absorption) and electrophoretic (native and SDS PAGE) techniques under simulated physiological conditions (pH 7.40, 37 °C). The spectroscopic results confirmed the complex formation for the tested systems. The binding constants and the number of binding sites were obtained by analysis of fluorescence data. The strongest binding affinity to HSA was found for epicatechin gallate and decreased in the order epicatechin gallate ⩾ catechin gallate > epigallocatechin gallate > gallocatechin gallate ≫ epicatechin ⩾ catechin > gallocatechin ⩾ epigallocatechin. All free energy changes possessed negative sign indicating the spontaneity of catechin–HSA systems formation. The binding distances between the donor (HSA) and the acceptors (catechins) estimated by the Förster theory revealed that non-radiation energy transfer from HSA to catechins occurred with high possibility. According to results obtained by native PAGE, the galloylated catechins increased the electrophoretic mobility of HSA, which indicated the change in the molecular charge of HSA, whilst the non-galloylated catechins caused no changes. The ability of aggregation and cross-linking of tested catechins with HSA was not proved by SDS–PAGE. The relationship between the structure characteristics of all tested catechins (e.g. presence of the galloyl moiety on the C-ring, the number of hydroxyl groups on the B-ring, and the spatial arrangement of the substituents on the C-ring) and their binding properties to HSA is discussed. The presented study contributes to the current knowledge in the area of protein–ligand binding, particularly catechin–HSA interactions.