Probing the potential toxicity by characterizing the binding mechanism of sodium dehydroacetate to human serum albumin

Abstract BACKGROUND Sodium dehydroacetate (DHA‐S) is a common food additive, which can combine with serum proteins in the plasma, but the interaction mechanism between DHA‐S and human serum albumin (HSA) is unclear. In this study, multiple spectroscopy techniques, isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC), molecular docking and esterase activity test were employed to investigate the interaction mechanism of DHA‐S and HSA. RESULTS A DHA‐S–HSA complex was formed and the structure of HSA were altered by DHA‐S. Since DHA‐S changed the tight structure of the hydrophobic subdomain IIA where tryptophan (Trp) was placed, the hydrophobicity of the microenvironment of HSA was enhanced. With the addition of DHA‐S, the skeleton structure of HSA became loose and the solvent shell on the HSA surface was destroyed. DHA‐S altered the secondary structure of HSA, resulting in the decreased α‐helix and increased β‐sheet contents. The interaction was exothermic and spontaneous driven by van der Waals and hydrogen bonding. DHA‐S inhibited the esterase activity of HSA. Molecular docking demonstrated that the binding site of DHA‐S on HSA located at the cavity of subdomains IIA and IIIA, but the amino acids related to esterase activity of HSA were not in the binding pocket, indicating that the mechanism by which DHA‐S inhibited HSA esterase activity was the change in protein structure. CONCLUSION This study illustrated that DHA‐S interacted with HSA and the structure and function of HSA were affected by DHA‐S. This research could help to understand the toxicity of DHA‐S and provide basic data for safe use of food additives. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry