Exploring Ayurvedic Plant Compounds as Natural Inhibitors for Protein Caspase-1 in Diseases with Chronic Inflammation

Over the last few years, chronic inflammatory diseases such as arthritis, type 2 diabetes, and neurodegenerative disorders have become very common (Furman et al., 2019; Pahwa, 2023). All of these diseases are triggered by the same response, i.e., the hyperactivation of the protein caspase-1, which plays a very crucial role in our body's immune response (Molla et al., 2020; Dhani et al., 2021). Although current generic drugs have attempted to regulate inflammatory activity, all of them possess significant side-effects and lack long-term efficacy (Karimi et al., 2015; Dhani et al., 2021). We have selected 10 Ayurvedic plants and extracted compounds from each plant as these species have been employed traditionally to treat inflammation for centuries. Using advanced computer modeling software, we screened how well these natural molecules would bind to caspase-1, as well as other key inflammasome components such as ASC. We not only confirmed if they were a good fit but also examined if these molecules would be safe and well-tolerated by the human body with the assistance of specialized computer software such as SwissADME and ProTox-II. Most of the compounds showed high potential for inhibiting caspase-1 with good binding affinity and low toxicity. Some compounds even had the potential to act on more than one inflammatory pathway, and thus they could be more effective than single-target approaches. The findings suggest that traditional Ayurvedic medicine may hold the key to fighting modern-day inflammatory diseases. The study focuses on how traditional plant-based remedies can be scientifically evaluated systematically using modern scientific methods, closing the gap between drug discovery and traditional medicine. While this computational research is a great starting point, the subsequent task will be to test these compounds using laboratory experiments and eventually clinical trials. In the years to follow, this research may be a gateway for ancient medicinal practices to help treat even larger diseases such as cancer.