*2.4. Non-Enzymatic Glycation*

HSA was glycated using methylglyoxal (MG) as an inducer, as reported earlier [36,40]. Briefly, HSA was taken at the concentration of 10 mg/mL and incubated along with MG (3 mM) in the presence of caffeic and coumaric acid (0–200 µM) under sterile conditions using 0.02% sodium azide. HSA alone and in the presence of MG was also incubated under similar conditions as negative and positive control samples, respectively. Samples were further dialyzed in 20 mM sodium phosphate buffer with successive changes at regular intervals for 24 h. Protein concentration was determined using the Bradford method [41] and stored at −20 ◦C.
