Physical properties and biological activities of hesperetin and naringenin in complex with methylated β-cyclodextrin.

The aim of this work is to improve physical properties and biological activities of the two flavanones hesperetin and naringenin by complexation with β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) and its methylated derivatives (2,6-di-O-methyl-β-cyclodextrin, DM-β-CD and randomly methylated-β-CD, RAMEB). The free energies of inclusion complexes between hesperetin with cyclodextrins (β-CD and DM-β-CD) were theoretically investigated by molecular dynamics simulation. The free energy values obtained suggested a more stable inclusion complex with DM-β-CD.

Enhanced stability of a naringenin/2,6-dimethyl β-cyclodextrin inclusion complex: molecular dynamics and free energy calculations based on MM- and QM-PBSA/GBSA.

The structure, dynamic behavior and binding affinity of the inclusion complexes between naringenin and the two cyclodextrins (CDs), β-CD and its 2,6-dimethyl derivative (DM-β-CD), were theoretically studied by multiple molecular dynamics simulations and free energy calculations. Naringenin most likely prefers to bind with CDs through the phenyl ring. Although a lower hydrogen bond formation of naringenin with the 3-hydroxyl group of DM-β-CD (relative to β-CD) was observed, the higher cavity could encapsulate almost the whole naringenin molecule.