Paul Keogh
Global Therapeutics Pty Ltd., Australia
Title: Investigating anti-allergic constituents in the traditional formula Sho-Saiko-To and their potential to block the human histamine H1 receptor
Biography
Biography: Paul Keogh
Abstract
Sho-Saiko-To (SST) is a formula of seven botanicals used for Shaoyang syndrome in East Asia for more than 1800 years. This study was to investigate the potential anti-allergic effects of SST by evaluating the potential binding modes of compounds from SST to the human histamine H1 receptor. A virtual screening (VS) strategy based on the Multiple Fragment Molecular Dynamics (MFMD) method with was applied in this study to screen for potential histamine receptor antagonist constituents in SST. Of the 13 selected compounds, 10-gingerol, 6-gingerol, 6-shogaol, baicalin and baicalein demonstrated the ability to bind to the histamine H1 receptor at helices III, V and VI, and thus antagonize the action of histamine. The results of this study suggest that SST may act as a histamine receptor antagonist and deserves further investigation of its anti-allergic potential. To the author’s knowledge, this is the first time MFMD/VS has been used to demonstrate the histamine receptor antagonist action of active constituents in Sho-Saiko-To.