Potential of the methanol extract from Cucumis melo var. cantalupensis as an antihypertensive agent possibly through the interference of glutathione S-transferase

Background: Hypertension is a condition, in which a patient’s systolic blood pressure reaches ≥140 mmHg and/or the diastolic blood pressure reaches ≥90 mmHg. The disease is generally treated using synthetic chemical drugs such as angiotensin�converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors. In Indonesia, especially the island of Java, people often use medicinal plants called Jamu (herbs) to treat hypertension. One of the most often used medicinal plants to treat hypertension is cantaloupe (Cucumis melo var. cantalupensis) or Blewah in Javanese. However, thus far, the mechanism of how cantaloupe reduces blood pressure is still unknown. Materials and Methods: This research aimed to investigate the working mechanism of cantaloupe in reducing blood pressure through an in silico approach. Results: An enzyme activity analysis showed that the methanol extract from cantaloupe inhibited the activity of ACE in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, the mapping analysis of the interaction between the bioactive compounds and their target proteins, using the STITCH and STRINGdb databases, suggested that L-glutathione (GSH) (reduced) interacted with proteins that are members of the superfamily of GSH S-transferase (GST). Conclusion: This protein family acts in detoxification and radical scavenging. Thus, the possible working mechanism of cantaloupe in reducing blood pressure is through the detoxification and radical scavenging pathways by GST