Objective: The management of snake bite envenomation is a global challenge affecting millions of people. Immunotherapy is still regarded as the treatment of choice; however, their subsequent adverse effects restrict their potential use for therapy against snake venom poisoning. In recent years, more attention has been given to the exploration of indigenous medicinal plants for their outstanding benefits for the treatment of several diseases and disorders, including snake venom poisoning. Hesperetin is a naturally occurring compound derived from a flavanone glycoside, hesperidin and is obtained from various citrus fruits. It is known to possess significant inhibitory activity against snake venom serine proteases. The aim of our present study was to investigate the significant inhibitory action of hesperetin on thrombin-like serine protease from sharp-nosed pit viper (Deinagkistrodon acutus) snake venom.Methods: We have employed molecular docking analysis by implementing the state-of-the-art docking program to validate the hypothesis of the prospective inhibitory properties of hesperetin on thrombin-like serine proteases of snake venom. AutoDock 4.2, InterProSurf, MGLTools, and MTiAutoDock were utilized for the molecular docking analysis of thrombin-like serine protease obtained from the snake venom of sharp-nosed pit viper with the natural compound hesperetin.Results: The results generated from in silico based approach reveals the significant inhibitory role of hesperetin against thrombin-like snake venom proteases, which might lead to the drug designing of the inhibitors of snake venom serine proteases.Conclusion: The implementation of molecular docking analysis by the employment of state-of-the-art docking program supports the potential of inhibitory activity of naturally obtained hesperetin compound on thrombin-like serine proteases of snake venom. The generated in silico results suggests that the novel structure hesperetin - flavanone might act as a potent inhibitor of thrombin-like snake venom proteases, and unlocks the possibilities for designing drugs of the inhibitors of snake venom serine proteases. Moreover, the investigation of the novel compound obtained from natural sources for their inhibitory activity against snake venom serine proteases would lead to the discovery of newer inhibitory compound from a highly uninvestigated research arena.
MOLECULAR DOCKING STUDIES OF SNAKE VENOM SERINE PROTEASE OF SHARP-NOSED PIT VIPER WITH HESPERETIN