*Article* **Binding Studies of Caffeic and p-Coumaric Acid with** α**-Amylase: Multispectroscopic and Computational Approaches Deciphering the Effect on Advanced Glycation End Products (AGEs)**

**Mohd Shahnawaz Khan \*, Majed S. Alokail, Amal Majed H. Alenad, Nojood Altwaijry , Nouf Omar Alafaleq , Abdulaziz Mohammed Alamri and Mubarak Ali Zawba**

> Department of Biochemistry, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia; malokail@ksu.edu.sa (M.S.A.); aalenad@ksu.edu.sa (A.M.H.A.); nojood@ksu.edu.sa (N.A.); nalafaleg@ksu.edu.sa (N.O.A.); abalamri@ksu.edu.sa (A.M.A.); 436160113@student.ksu.edu.sa (M.A.Z.) **\*** Correspondence: moskhan@ksu.edu.sa

**Abstract:** Alpha-amylase (α-amylase) is a key player in the management of diabetes and its related complications. This study was intended to have an insight into the binding of caffeic acid and coumaric acid with α-amylase and analyze the effect of these compounds on the formation of advanced glycation end-products (AGEs). Fluorescence quenching studies suggested that both the compounds showed an appreciable binding affinity towards α-amylase. The evaluation of thermodynamic parameters (∆*H* and ∆*S*) suggested that the α-amylase-caffeic/coumaric acid complex formation is driven by van der Waals force and hydrogen bonding, and thus complexation process is seemingly specific. Moreover, glycation and oxidation studies were also performed to explore the multitarget to manage diabetes complications. Caffeic and coumaric acid both inhibited fructosamine content and AGE fluorescence, suggesting their role in the inhibition of early and advanced glycation end-products (AGEs). However, the glycation inhibitory potential of caffeic acid was more in comparison to p-coumaric acid. This high antiglycative potential can be attributed to its additional –OH group and high antioxidant activity. There was a significant recovery of 84.5% in free thiol groups in the presence of caffeic acid, while coumaric attenuated the slow recovery of 29.4% of thiol groups. In vitro studies were further entrenched by in silico studies. Molecular docking studies revealed that caffeic acid formed six hydrogen bonds (Trp 59, Gln 63, Arg 195, Arg 195, Asp 197 and Asp 197) while coumaric acid formed four H-bonds with Trp 59, Gln 63, Arg 195 and Asp 300. Our studies highlighted the role of hydrogen bonding, and the ligands such as caffeic or coumaric acid could be exploited to design antidiabetic drugs.

**Keywords:** α-amylase; advanced glycation end-products; caffeic acid; coumaric acid
