Assessment of the hypoglycemic effect of Bixin in alloxan-induced diabetic rats: <i>in vivo</i> and <i>in silico</i> studies KeitaHady SantosCleydson Breno Rodrigues dos RamosMatheus Mercês PadilhaElias Carvalho SerafimRodolfo Bortolozo CastroAndres Navarrete AmadoJesus Rafael Rodriguez da SilvaGabriel Monteiro FerreiraIrlon Maciel GiuliattiSilvana CarvalhoJosé Carlos Tavares 2020 <p>The objectives of this study were to extract and purify Bixin from the seeds of <i>Bixa orellana</i> and to evaluate its hypoglycemic activity <i>in vivo</i>, as well as, to conduct an <i>in silico</i> study of selectivity on peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors via molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations. Oral administration of Bixin (10 mg/kg) significantly reduced their glucose level that was alloxan-induced diabetic rats. Bixin showed <i>in silico</i> selectivity on peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs), particularly by the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ), which supports the hypoglycemic activity of Bixin. From the results obtained, it can be inferred that Bixin presents hypoglycemic characteristics, which was confirmed by the results obtained from the <i>in vivo</i> and <i>in silico</i> tests. Bixin may act by other pathways to control blood glucose and thus it is possible that it presents a different toxicity profile than troglitazone, rosiglitazone and pioglitazone. However, more studies on the activity and toxicity of Bixin are needed to evaluate for further clinical use.</p> <p>Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma</p>