The potential health benefit of cowpea estrogen-like activity to restore vaginal epithelial cells thinning due to menopausal syndrome

Abstract

Vigna unguiculata, cowpea, contains genistein, a compound with a structure similar to estrogen. However, the genistein content of cowpea and its potential for addressing menopause-related vaginal epithelial cell atrophy remains uncharted. This research aims to examine the interaction mode and estrogenic effect of Indonesian cowpea seeds' genistein on the estrogen receptor (ER) both in silico and in vivo. Through the application of liquid chromatography- tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), the genistein content of dry pasta cowpea seeds KT4 and KT6 was examined. Autodock 4.0, an integral component of the PyRx 0.9.5 software, was utilized to establish a virtual interaction between genistein molecules from cowpea compounds and the ERα and ERβ proteins. An immunohistochemistry assay was employed to characterize the estrogen receptor expression profile of vaginal tissue in 36 female Sprague-Dawley rats subjected to treatment-dependent doses of cowpea. Genistein was 15.64 µg/g higher in cowpea KT4 than in KT6. Moreover, genistein docking in cowpeas revealed a significant interaction with ERα and ERβ at -9.03 and 10.8 kcal/mol, respectively. Expression of ERα and ERβ significantly increased in vaginal menopausal rat models treated with 4-ethanolic extract of cowpea seed varieties at a dose of 5 mg/kgBB compared to a lower dose (p=0.004). In sum, cowpea ethanol extract exhibited to have an estrogenic effect on vaginal tissue in menopausal models. Accordingly, future applications of the cowpea as a complementary therapy for vaginal dryness due to menopausal syndrome will enhance the quality of life for postmenopausal women.