Characteristic properties of genipin as an activator in neuronal nitric oxide synthase

The present investigation was undertaken to compare the structural and electronic properties of genipin with those of tetrahydrobiopterin (H(4)B), an essential cofactor in neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS), and 4-aminotetrahydrobiopterin (4-amino-H(4)B), an inhibitor of nNOS, using computer-assisted molecular modeling techniques. Molecular modeling, superimposing, and docking simulation, in addition to LUMO-energy calculation, revealed that genipin has structural and electronic properties that markedly resemble those of H(4)B.