ABSTRACT
Safranal, crocetin, and dimethylcrocetin are secondary metabolites found in saffron and have a wide range of biological activities. An investigation of their interaction with a transport protein, such as β-lactoglobulin (β-lg), at the atomic level could be a valuable factor in controlling their transport to biological sites. The interaction of these ligands and β-lg as a transport protein was investigated using molecular docking and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation methods. The molecular docking results showed that safranal and crocetin bind on the surface of β-lg. However, dimethylcrocetin binds in the internal cavity of β-lg. The β-lg affinity for binding saffron ligands decreases in the following order: crocetin > dimethylcrocetin > safranal. The analysis of MD simulation trajectories showed that the β-lg and β-lg–ligand complexes became stable at approximately 3000 ps and that there was little conformational change in the β-lg–safranal and β-lg–dimethylcrocetin complexes over a 10-ns timescale. In addition, the profiles of atomic fluctuations showed the rigidity of the ligand binding site during the simulation time.
Funding
Support of this work from the University of Isfahan (Iran) (Grant No. 920916) is gratefully acknowledged.