INSILICO APPROACH ON SCREENING THE PHYTOCONSTITUENTS OF TINOSPORA CORDIFOLIA IN INHIBITION OF CGAS-STING MEDIATED ATHEROSCLEROSIS

Ischemic heart disease (IHD) being a leading global cause of mortality, primarily due to atherosclerosis and thrombus formation in coronary arteries. Atherosclerosis is a chronic immunoinflammatory condition characterized by lipid accumulation and plaque formation due to risk factors such as smoking, hypertension, diabetes, andlife style changes. Recent insights shown that the cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS)–Stimulator of Interferon Genes (STING) pathway have being a pivotal role in initiating inflammatory responses that contribute to plaque formation. Tinospora cordifolia, a herb widely used in Indian System of Medicine, is known for its diverse pharmacological properties including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and immunomodulatory effects. This study investigates the potential phytoconstituents of T. cordifolia to inhibit STING-mediated inflammatory signaling involved in atherosclerosis. Using molecular docking techniques, various bioactive compounds from T. cordifolia were screened against the STING protein (PDB ID: 4KSY). The docking results demonstrate strong binding affinities of selected phytoconstituents to key amino acid residues of STING. These finding suggesting a novel phytochemical therapeutic agent for the prevention and management of atherosclerosis.