Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
14th International Drug Chemistry Congress, Antalya, Türkiye, 5 - 08 Şubat 2026, ss.148, (Özet Bildiri)
Human immunodeficiency virus type-1 reverse transcriptase (HIV-1 RT) is a key enzymatic target in antiviral drug discovery, and natural-product scaffolds continue to offer promising inhibitory profiles. In this study, the biological carotenoid astaxanthin—known for its strong antioxidant and immunomodulatory effects (Ambati et al., 2014)—was evaluated for its inhibitory potential against HIV-1 RT using integrated in silico and in vitro approaches. Molecular docking was performed with AutoDock4, a widely used structure-based modelling platform (Morris et al., 2009), revealing a strong binding affinity for astaxanthin (−11.32 kcal/mol), which exceeded that of the reference NNRTI nevirapine (−9.20 kcal/mol). Hydrophobic interactions dominated the ligand–protein interface, suggesting a stable binding mode. ELISA-based inhibition assays further demonstrated dose-dependent inhibition, with the highest astaxanthin concentration achieving ~44% RT inhibition. Although its in vitro activity was lower than nevirapine, the combination of favorable docking results and natural-product relevance supports astaxanthin as a promising scaffold for future optimization of HIV-1 RT inhibitors.