Screening and molecular docking of the bioactive constituent cinnamic acid of Terminalia chebula to inhibit the enzyme urease of Helicobacter pylori

Peptic ulcer is an inflammatory disease in the gastric mucosae and one of the main cause which is associated with the presence of Helicobacter pylori. Various antibiotics are available to control H. pylorus. But this bacterium shows resistance to antibiotics. An alternative to antibiotics is inhibiting the enzyme urease present in H. pylori. Even though synthetic drugs are available to inhibit urease, they have undesirable side effects. So, natural products are gaining attention in inhibiting urease. The objective of the present study aimed to identify the bioactive constituents present in the ethanolic extract of seeds of Terminalia chebula using GC-MS. The bioactive constituent cinnamic acid identified in T. chebula were docked using the Schrodinger Maestro module with the enzyme urease of H. pylori. Molecular docking was also carried out for the synthetic drug acetohydroxamic acid. The docking score and the glide energies of cinnamic acid and acetohydroxamic acid were compared. Cinnamic acid showed higher binding affinity than the acetohydroxamic acid and can be developed as a drug against peptic ulcer.