Comparative Docking Analysis on Natural Compounds Versus a Synthetic Drug as a Therapeutic for Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome

Abstract

Problem statement: Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is one of the worst pandemics affecting and spreading quickly all over the world with a high mortality rate. AIDS has been able to kill so many people due to the unique property of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) virus. It attacks the immune system of the victim there by not allowing the immune system to fight against the infection. Till today there has been no vaccine or medicine invented against AIDS and thus the syndrome remains incurable. Approach: In the present study, automated docking was performed by comparing two natural compounds namely ellagic acid, quercitine against a synthetic drug namely nevirapine on Cluster of Differentiation 4 (CD4), which serves as the high-affinity receptor for cellular attachment and entry of the HIV which is responsible for AIDS. Using the available Bioinformatics tools and techniques a comparative study between the natural and the synthetic drug was done. Results: From the results, it was found that the natural compounds showed more inhibiting activity towards CD4 than the already available drug. Perhaps the quercitine could be used as a potential lead compound that has an activity on the target and could be modified to improve its pharmaceutical features in the drug discovery process for AIDS. Conclusion: However the results from clinical studies were always the limiting step to the entrance of the novel drugs into the market. This research was an attempt to take a good step towards the drug discovery against AIDS.