Pioglitazone is an antidiabetic drug used to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus. Interaction of Pioglitazone with calf thymus DNA was investigated using multispectroscopic techniques and molecular docking study. Quenching and binding constant was calculated at 3 different temperatures. The binding constant of Pioglitazone with calf thymus DNA was calculated to be 6.49 × 10 M at 293 K. The quenching mechanism was found to be a static process, and thermodynamic parameters revealed van der Waals interactions and hydrogen bonds to be the major force working in Pioglitazone-DNA interaction. Pioglitazone follows the nonintercalative mode of binding and was involved in complex formation with DNA through minor groove binding and electrostatic interactions. Experiments like KI quenching studies, dye displacement assays, Circular Dichroism (CD) spectroscopy, DNA melting study, and viscosity measurements studies supported the nonintercalative mode of binding. This was further corroborated by molecular docking studies.

Interaction of procarbazine (PCZ) with calf thymus DNA was studied using biophysical and molecular docking studies. Procarbazine was to interact with DNA with a binding constant of 6.52 × 10 M as calculated using ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy. To find out the binding mode, molecular docking was performed that predicted PCZ to interact with DNA through groove binding mode with binding affinity of -6.7 kcal/mole. To confirm the groove binding nature, different experiments were performed. Dye displacement assays confirmed the non-intercalative binding mode. Procarbazine displaced Hoechst dye from the minor groove of DNA while it was unable to displace intercalating dyes. There was no increase in the viscosity of DNA solution in presence of PCZ. Also, negligible change in the secondary structure of DNA was observed in presence of PCZ as evident by circular dichroism spectra. Procarbazine caused decrease in the melting temperature of DNA possibly because of decrease in the stability of DNA caused by groove binding interaction of PCZ with DNA.

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The improvement on insulin therapy since it was first administered in early of 20th century is still hunting for better option to cure the metabolic disease the diabetes. Remarkable progress made to date in regard to discovery of peptide hormones like recombinant insulin, insulin analogues, oral insulin and inhaler insulin. But insulin therapy to the patients for long periods resulted in immunological complications due to the development of insulin antibodies that cause insulin allergy and many chronic disorders. Management of diabetes without any side effects is still a challenge to the medical community. Therefore, it is prudent to look for options in herbal medicine. Since its discovery a formidable amount of research, strongly suggest that plants produce a protein with most of the characteristics of vertebrate insulins and plays similar roles in plants as it does in animals. The Molecular Dynamics simulations studies of insulin suggesting an interesting result. It has two constant values at different time scales. This may be due to different chains present in the proteins or different conformations at different time scales of simulation. The relative folding energy of insulin like protein from plant source suggested that it has maximum stability at neutral pH i.e., similar to pH of human blood.

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