In Silico Studies Revealed Multiple Neurological Targets for the Antidepressant Molecule Ursolic Acid

BACKGROUND: Ursolic acid, a bioactive pentacyclic triterpenoid had been evaluated for its interaction with the neurological targets associated with antidepressant drugs. Current study was to mechanistically analyze the probable site of action for ursolic acid on the target proteins. METHODS: Ursolic acid has been docked with monoamine oxidase isoforms: MAO-A and MAO-B, LeuT (homologue of SERT, NET, DAT) and Human C-terminal CAP1 using GRIP docking methodology. RESULTS: Results revealed its non-selective antidepressant action with strong binding affinity towards LeuT and MAO-A proteins, which was found to be comparable with the reference ligands like chlorgyline, clomipramine, sertraline and deprenyl/selegiline. CONCLUSION: Significant binding affinity of ursolic acid was seen with MAO-A, which indicated its potential role in other neurological disorders, for example, Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson disease besides depression.