Antifibrotic potential of reserpine (alkaloid) targeting Keap1/Nrf2; oxidative stress pathway in CCl4-induced liver fibrosis

The death rate due to liver cancer approaches 2 million annually, the majority is attributed to fibrosis. Currently, there is no efficient, safe, non-toxic, and anti-fibrotic drug available, suggesting room for better drug discovery. The current study aims to evaluate the anti-fibrotic role of reserpine, an alkaloid plant compound against CCl4-induced liver fibrosis. In-silico docking analysis showed the interaction of reserpine with keap1 protein with the binding energy −9.0 kcal/mol. In-vitro, biochemical analysis, anti-oxidative indexes, and inflammatory cytokines analysis were performed in HepG2 cells. The non-toxic nature of the compound (