Pro-fertility and Antioxidant Potentials of Vigna unguiculata (Cowpea) Protein Isolate and Essential Oil: An In vivo and In silico Studies.

IF 1 4区生物学 Q4 BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY

Protein and Peptide Letters Pub Date : 2025-01-03 DOI:10.2174/0109298665358634241217094220

Olugbenga Samuel Oladimeji, Olasunkanmi Kayode Awote, Nzubechi Olympian Elum

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Introduction: Vigna unguiculata (Cowpea), a legume rich in phytochemicals, has been traditionally used to improve fertility and treat various ailments. This study used in-silico and in-- vivo methods to evaluate the effects of cowpea protein isolate and essential oil on reproductive hormonal and antioxidant indices.

Method: Forty (40) female rats were divided into eight groups (n=5). After 14 days of treatment, hormone levels (progesterone, prolactin, testosterone, estradiol) and antioxidant activities (superoxide dismutase [SOD], catalase [CAT]) were assessed using biochemical kits and standard procedures. Molecular docking studies were performed using PyRx and Biovia Discovery Studio 2021. The ligands generated from gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GCMS) analysis of cowpea oil and the target proteins (SOD and CAT) were from PubChem and RCSB Protein Data Bank, respectively.

Results: The results of this study showed that cowpea oil and protein isolate significantly (p<0.05) reduced plasma CAT and SOD activities while increasing their activities in the ovary and liver tissues compared to the infertile untreated group. Consistent administration of either cowpea oil or protein isolate was observed to positively regulate the hormonal indices in the infertile treated groups. Phthalic acid, 2-cyclohexyl ethyl isobutyl ester demonstrated a strong binding affinity and binding constant with SOD and CAT, which suggests that the ligands from cowpea essential oil have antioxidant and pro-fertility potentials that could be developed to treat fertility-related issues.

Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, it can be concluded that V. unguiculata can promote fertility, possibly through its rich embedded phytochemicals, which substantiates its traditional claim.

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豇豆分离蛋白和精油的促生育和抗氧化潜力：体内和计算机研究。

简介：豇豆（豇豆）是一种富含植物化学物质的豆科植物，传统上被用来提高生育力和治疗各种疾病。本研究采用体内法和体外法研究了豇豆分离蛋白和精油对生殖激素和抗氧化指标的影响。方法：雌性大鼠40只，随机分为8组（n=5）。治疗14天后，采用生化试剂盒和标准程序评估激素水平（孕酮、催乳素、睾酮、雌二醇）和抗氧化活性（超氧化物歧化酶（SOD）、过氧化氢酶（CAT））。使用PyRx和Biovia Discovery Studio 2021进行分子对接研究。豇豆油气相色谱-质谱（GCMS）分析生成的配体和靶蛋白（SOD和CAT）分别来自PubChem和RCSB蛋白质数据库。结果：本研究结果表明，豇豆油和分离蛋白具有显著的促育作用(p)。结论：基于本研究结果，可知豇豆油具有促育作用，可能是通过其丰富的内含植物化学物质，证实了其传统说法。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Protein and Peptide Letters 生物-生化与分子生物学

CiteScore

2.90

自引率

0.00%

发文量

审稿时长

2 months

期刊介绍： Protein & Peptide Letters publishes letters, original research papers, mini-reviews and guest edited issues in all important aspects of protein and peptide research, including structural studies, advances in recombinant expression, function, synthesis, enzymology, immunology, molecular modeling, and drug design. Manuscripts must have a significant element of novelty, timeliness and urgency that merit rapid publication. Reports of crystallization and preliminary structure determination of biologically important proteins are considered only if they include significant new approaches or deal with proteins of immediate importance, and preliminary structure determinations of biologically important proteins. Purely theoretical/review papers should provide new insight into the principles of protein/peptide structure and function. Manuscripts describing computational work should include some experimental data to provide confirmation of the results of calculations. Protein & Peptide Letters focuses on: Structure Studies Advances in Recombinant Expression Drug Design Chemical Synthesis Function Pharmacology Enzymology Conformational Analysis Immunology Biotechnology Protein Engineering Protein Folding Sequencing Molecular Recognition Purification and Analysis