Experimental and hypothetical appraisal on inhibition of glucose-induced glycation of bovine serum albumin by quercetin

Background The specificity of protein functions depends on its folding ability into a functional structure. Protein folding is an essential systemic phenomenon that prevents incorrect folding which could result in harmful aggregation. This harmful aggregation of proteins causes neurodegenerative diseases and systemic amyloidosis. Experimental and theoretical approaches were used in this study to explicate the probable mechanisms of action of quercetin in inhibition of glucose-induced glycation through estimations of percentage glycated protein, inhibited induced protein aggregation, and unoxidized bovine serum albumin thiol groups and assessments of molecular interactions of quercetin with the structures of bovine serum albumin, amyloid beta-peptide (1–42) and 3D amyloid-beta (1–42) fibrils retrieved from the protein databank ( http://www.rcsb.org ). Results The results showed quercetin inhibited the formation of glycated protein, protein aggregation, and thiol oxidation in a concentration-dependent manner where 200 μg/ml showed the highest inhibition while 50 μg/ml depicted the least inhibition in all the studied assessments. From the docking analysis, it was observed that quercetin had a significantly higher binding affinities − 8.67 ± 0.09 kcal/mol, − 5.37 ± 0.05 kcal/mol and − 5.93 ± 0.13 kcal/mol for the bovine serum albumin, amyloid beta-peptide (1–42) and 3D amyloid-beta (1–42) fibrils respectively compared to the glucose, the inducer. Quercetin and glucose interacted with amino acid residues at the BSA subdomain IIA thus providing a clue that quercetin may impose its inhibition through the binding domain. Also, it is important to mention that the phytochemicals shared a similar interaction profile as that of glucose with the amyloid-beta. Conclusions These findings established the beneficial effects of quercetin as a potential agent that could alleviate hyperglycaemic-initiated disorders associated with elevated serum glucose levels.