Anti-Methanogenic Traits of Safflower Oil Compounds Against Methyl-Coenzyme M Reductase Receptor in Equines: An In Silico Docking Analysis

Abstract

Greenhouse gases emission from livestock is the major concern for the ecosystem. Despite the lower contribution of non-ruminants towards greenhouse gas emission as compared to the ruminants, the emission of methane (CH4) gas from equines is expected to be increased in future due to its increasing population. Thus, it is essential to find or screen potential anti-methanogenic agent in a cost-effective and quicker manner. Considering this, the present investigation was aimed to analyze anti-methanogenic characteristic of bioactive compounds of safflower oil by targeting methanogenesis catalyzing enzyme (Methyl-coenzyme M reductase; MCR) via in silico tool. Initially, a total of 25 compounds associated with safflower oil were selected and their drug-likeness traits were predicted through Lipinski's rule of 5. Of 25 compounds, 9 compounds passed all the parameters of Lipinski's rule of five. These 9 ligands were further submitted for ADME traits analysis using Swiss ADME tool. Results revealed the absence of Lipinski's violation and approval of drug-likeness attributes of methyl tetradecanoate, 3-isopropyl-6-methylenecyclohex-1-ene, trans-2,4-decadienal, cis-6-nonenal, limonene, syringic acids, matairesinol, acacetin, and 2,5-octanedione. Molecular docking analysis was performed for analyzing the affinity between the selected 9 ligands and MCR receptor using FRED v3.2.0 from OpenEye Scientific Software and Discovery Studio client v16.1.0. Results showed maximum binding interaction of acacetin with MCR with the chemguass4 score of -13.35. Other ligands showed comparatively lower binding affinity in the order of matairesinol (-12.43) > methyl tetradecanoate (-9.25) > cis-6-nonenal (-7.88) > syringic acids (-7.73) > limonene (-7.18) > trans-2,4-decadienal (-7.07) > 3-isopropyl-6-methylenecyclohex-1-ene (-7.01) > 2,5-octanedione (-7.0.). In a nutshell, these identified compounds were observed as potential agents to reduce CH4 production from equines by targeting MCR. This in silico study emphasized the role of safflower-associated compounds in developing anti-methanogenic drug for equines in future.