Protective effect of the newly synthesized and characterized charge transfer (CT) complex against arecoline induced toxicity in third-instar larvae of transgenic Drosophila melanogaster (hsp70-lacZ)Bg9: experimental and theoretical mechanistic insights

Abstract

Agents that suppress the toxic effect of arecoline (a chemical present in the Areca nut fruit) have become a need of the hour owing to its several harmful effects on human beings. Although some drug molecules have been developed for this purpose, yet, simple, easy to prepare, and economical molecules with remarkable potency are still a challenge to design. The present work thus becomes important as it involves the synthesis of a new charge transfer complex (CTC) material, which has, for the first time, been screened to investigate its effect on the toxic effects of arecoline. The newly designed material (CL), which is generated from the reaction between 2,4,6-trinitrophenol (TNP) and pyrazole (PYZ), has been crystallized by a slow evaporation method and characterized by employing spectral studies including single crystal X-ray crystallography. Spectrophotometry studies with the inclusion of the Benesi–Hildebrand equation reveal 1 : 1 stoichiometry and physical parameters of CL. Assays were used for determining the protective effect of CL against arecoline. CL was found to (dose-dependently) decrease β-galactosidase activity, damage in tissue and DNA damage caused by arecoline (80 μM) in the third-instar larvae of the transgenic Drosophila melanogaster (hsp70-lacZ)Bg⁹. The possible mechanism of this effect was explored through fluorescence and UV-vis spectroscopy. The possibility of suppression of arecoline action on the muscarinic acetylcholine receptor 1-G11 protein complex (found in the cell membrane) in the presence of CL was studied theoretically by molecular docking. Density functional theory (DFT) also theoretically supported various aspects of the designed material concerning the energy profile of the orbitals (HOMO–LUMO) as well as the energy minimized structure. Furthermore, time dependent (TD) DFT corroborated the electronic properties of the designed material.