Ginger (Zingiber officinale) components as alternative for inhibition of the human dopamine receptor D2: a computational approach

Human dopamine receptor D2 (DRD2) is one of the molecular targets for the drug development against some neurological disorders playing a vital role in the dopamine equilibrium in the brain. Atypical drugs like Risperidone, used against schizophrenia, with proven efficacy in reducing the extra pyramidal symptoms of this disease, act as agonist inhibitors of DRD2. However, these drugs are not capable of curing schizophrenia, there is still room for the drug development against this disease. We investigated here the ability of 12 components of the Ginger (Zingiber officinale) extract, known since ancient times to be effective against various diseases including neurological ones, for their molecular interactions with the human DRD2 receptor. Among all the amino acids participating in the binding process, we found that Trp386 plays a vital role, since it fixes the ligands by pi-stacking while Asp114 binds them through a H-bond. This knowledge is important since it supports the traditional use of this plant in natural medicine and also serves as a starting point for the design of drugs derived from these natural components.