Licoisoflavone B and glabridin from Glycyrrhiza glabra as potent nucleoprotein antagonists of Lassa virus: insights from molecular docking, dynamics simulation, PCA, and DFT studies

Lassa virus causes a severe hemorrhagic disease referred to as Lassa fever. It exhibits a significant mortality rate among people in West and Central Africa. Currently, there is no vaccine available, and ribavirin is the sole treatment option with significant limitations. Given the lack of an effect...

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Main Authors: Sk. Faisal Ahmed, Md. Masudur Rahman Munna, Md. Hossain Ahmed, Md. Mostafizur Rahman, Minhajul Islam, Esha Mony Bristy
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-09-01
Series:Journal of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1687157X25000885
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author Sk. Faisal Ahmed
Md. Masudur Rahman Munna
Md. Hossain Ahmed
Md. Mostafizur Rahman
Minhajul Islam
Esha Mony Bristy
author_facet Sk. Faisal Ahmed
Md. Masudur Rahman Munna
Md. Hossain Ahmed
Md. Mostafizur Rahman
Minhajul Islam
Esha Mony Bristy
author_sort Sk. Faisal Ahmed
collection DOAJ
description Lassa virus causes a severe hemorrhagic disease referred to as Lassa fever. It exhibits a significant mortality rate among people in West and Central Africa. Currently, there is no vaccine available, and ribavirin is the sole treatment option with significant limitations. Given the lack of an effective medication, this study explores bioactive phytocompounds from the plant Glycyrrhiza glabra that may be safer and more effective than ribavirin in combating viruses’ nucleoprotein activity, which is essential for the replication of viruses and host immune evasion. Our virtual screening and multi-stage molecular docking analyses of 69 natural phytochemicals from this plant revealed the compounds licoisoflavone B and glabridin as potential therapeutics. These compounds exhibit strong binding affinities toward the target protein, with superior ADMET profiles. Both compounds also maintained structural stability throughout 100 ns molecular dynamics simulations, while principal component analysis further corroborated their conformational stability, highlighting potential efficiency. Furthermore, density functional theory analysis indicated favorable electronic properties, supporting the compounds’ potential as viable drug candidates. These findings suggested licoisoflavone B and glabridin as potential therapeutic candidates for Lassa fever. However, this study underscores the urgency of further experimental validation to advance these compounds toward novel anti-Lassa virus therapeutics.
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publishDate 2025-09-01
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spelling doaj-art-5e0c2d3237fd46e29d4e6c71ee31b2d32025-08-24T05:11:53ZengElsevierJournal of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology1687-157X2025-09-0123310054410.1016/j.jgeb.2025.100544Licoisoflavone B and glabridin from Glycyrrhiza glabra as potent nucleoprotein antagonists of Lassa virus: insights from molecular docking, dynamics simulation, PCA, and DFT studiesSk. Faisal Ahmed0Md. Masudur Rahman Munna1Md. Hossain Ahmed2Md. Mostafizur Rahman3Minhajul Islam4Esha Mony Bristy5Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, North South University, Dhaka, Bangladesh; Dawn of Bioinformatics Limited, Dhaka, Bangladesh; Corresponding author at: Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, North South University, Dhaka, Bangladesh.Dawn of Bioinformatics Limited, Dhaka, Bangladesh; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh 2202, BangladeshDepartment of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, Gopalganj Science and Technology University, Gopalganj 8100, BangladeshDawn of Bioinformatics Limited, Dhaka, Bangladesh; Department of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, Gopalganj Science and Technology University, Gopalganj 8100, BangladeshDepartment of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, Jahangirnagar University, Dhaka 1342, BangladeshDawn of Bioinformatics Limited, Dhaka, Bangladesh; BBA in Management, Bangladesh National University, Gazipur, BangladeshLassa virus causes a severe hemorrhagic disease referred to as Lassa fever. It exhibits a significant mortality rate among people in West and Central Africa. Currently, there is no vaccine available, and ribavirin is the sole treatment option with significant limitations. Given the lack of an effective medication, this study explores bioactive phytocompounds from the plant Glycyrrhiza glabra that may be safer and more effective than ribavirin in combating viruses’ nucleoprotein activity, which is essential for the replication of viruses and host immune evasion. Our virtual screening and multi-stage molecular docking analyses of 69 natural phytochemicals from this plant revealed the compounds licoisoflavone B and glabridin as potential therapeutics. These compounds exhibit strong binding affinities toward the target protein, with superior ADMET profiles. Both compounds also maintained structural stability throughout 100 ns molecular dynamics simulations, while principal component analysis further corroborated their conformational stability, highlighting potential efficiency. Furthermore, density functional theory analysis indicated favorable electronic properties, supporting the compounds’ potential as viable drug candidates. These findings suggested licoisoflavone B and glabridin as potential therapeutic candidates for Lassa fever. However, this study underscores the urgency of further experimental validation to advance these compounds toward novel anti-Lassa virus therapeutics.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1687157X25000885Lassa feverViral replicationADMETMolecular dynamics simulationPrincipal component analysis
spellingShingle Sk. Faisal Ahmed
Md. Masudur Rahman Munna
Md. Hossain Ahmed
Md. Mostafizur Rahman
Minhajul Islam
Esha Mony Bristy
Licoisoflavone B and glabridin from Glycyrrhiza glabra as potent nucleoprotein antagonists of Lassa virus: insights from molecular docking, dynamics simulation, PCA, and DFT studies
Journal of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology
Lassa fever
Viral replication
ADMET
Molecular dynamics simulation
Principal component analysis
title Licoisoflavone B and glabridin from Glycyrrhiza glabra as potent nucleoprotein antagonists of Lassa virus: insights from molecular docking, dynamics simulation, PCA, and DFT studies
title_full Licoisoflavone B and glabridin from Glycyrrhiza glabra as potent nucleoprotein antagonists of Lassa virus: insights from molecular docking, dynamics simulation, PCA, and DFT studies
title_fullStr Licoisoflavone B and glabridin from Glycyrrhiza glabra as potent nucleoprotein antagonists of Lassa virus: insights from molecular docking, dynamics simulation, PCA, and DFT studies
title_full_unstemmed Licoisoflavone B and glabridin from Glycyrrhiza glabra as potent nucleoprotein antagonists of Lassa virus: insights from molecular docking, dynamics simulation, PCA, and DFT studies
title_short Licoisoflavone B and glabridin from Glycyrrhiza glabra as potent nucleoprotein antagonists of Lassa virus: insights from molecular docking, dynamics simulation, PCA, and DFT studies
title_sort licoisoflavone b and glabridin from glycyrrhiza glabra as potent nucleoprotein antagonists of lassa virus insights from molecular docking dynamics simulation pca and dft studies
topic Lassa fever
Viral replication
ADMET
Molecular dynamics simulation
Principal component analysis
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1687157X25000885
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