Engineering Headway Vol. 14

Abstract: Obesity is a global health problem that prevalence has increased in the last decade. Triglycerides are the main fat component in daily food intake, which can be absorbed directly into the enterocytes through Cluster of Differentiation (CD) 36 transporter protein. Glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist (semaglutide) has recently been approved for obesity treatment, but this medicine has some side effects in the gastrointestinal tract. Administration of Lactobacillus-fermented lemon juice reduced serum triglyceride levels and body weight (BW) of obese rats but it is not related to the action of CD36 protein. Therefore, this study aimed to explore phytochemicals derived from lemon fruits, which could inhibit CD36 protein. This bioinformatics study used 15 lemon phytochemicals, which had three-dimensional structures on the PubChem database and matched the criteria of Lipinski’s rules. As a standard compound, the three-dimensional structure of α-Santalol was found in a binding complex with CD36 protein, obtained from Protein Data Bank (ID:5LGD). The AutoDock Vina 1.1.2. software was used to perform molecular docking between α-Santalol/phytochemicals and CD36. Binding complexes of α-Santalol, phytochemicals, and CD36 were visualized using the Biovia Discover Studio. The potential candidate of CD36 inhibitor was analyzed by comparing the docking score, binding site, and molecular conformation between phytochemicals and α-Santalol. Roseoside had 386.4 Da molecular weight, a lower docking score (-6.7 Kcal/mol), a binding site at Ala141 only, and a different conformation than α-Santalol (-6.1 kcal/mol). In conclusion, Roseoside in lemon fruits becomes a potential CD36 inhibitor for the development of obesity treatment.

Abstract: The need for biomaterials is increasing as more and more health problems become more and more complex. Progress in the field of medical biomaterials is also accelerating, but the provision of renewable biomaterials continues to be of concern to the world as awareness of sustainable development in the field of chemistry and health. Various strategies in the development of medical biomaterials were studied through a narrative review of the literature. One of them is the strategy of developing inorganic-organic hybrid medical biomaterials through the cultivation of silkworms as producers of renewable biomaterial raw materials. Sericulture can produce active biomaterials such as sericin, fibroin and other renewable materials and those biomaterials can be combined with inorganic nanoparticles to produce medical functional biomaterials on an ongoing basis. The addition of antibacterial bioactive materials such as natural dyestuffs and inorganic nanoparticles of anti-bacterial agents can increase the productivity and quality of antimicrobial biomaterials produced by the cultivation of silkworms.