In silico analysis of flavonoid glycosides and its aglycones as reverse transcriptase inhibitor

Background: HIV continues to be a major global public health issue, having claimed more than 35 million lives so far. In 2016, 1 million people died from HIV-related causes globally. HIV-1 reverse transcriptase is one of HIV's vital enzymes for virus reproduction. If the enzyme is inhibited, the virus multiplication could be significantly decreased. There are currently many treatments for HIV, but more effective treatment is always needed because of the possibility of drug resistance and side effects for long-term use. Based on the previous study, there are some natural compounds with high affinity to the HIV-1 reverse transcriptase enzyme. Some of these compounds are flavonoid glycosides. Aims and Method: This study was aimed to learn more about in silico HIV-1 reverse transcriptase inhibitory activities of flavonoid glycosides using docking method. Results: The results showed that the most recommended flavonoid glycosides are those with the lowest binding energy, which were kaempferol-3-O-rhamnoside, myricetin-3-O-rhamnoside and quercetin-3-O-rhamnoside. This was due to the interactions of all three flavonoid rings and sugar moiety with key amino acid residues, which were Leu100, Lys101, Glu138, Tyr181, His235 and Tyr318. Conclusion: Flavonoid glycosides with rhamnose as glycone showed lower binding energy on HIV-1 reverse transcriptase.