Andrographis paniculata for COVID-19

AbstractTo attain promising pharmacotherapies, researchers have applied drug repurposing (DR) techniques to discover the candidate medicines to combat the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak. Although many DR approaches have been introduced for treating different diseases, only structure-based DR (SBDR) methods can be employed as the first therapeutic option against the COVID-19 pandemic because they rely on the rudimentary information about the diseases such as the sequence of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 genome. Hence, to try out new treatments for the disease, the first attempts have been made based on the SBDR methods which seem to be among the proper choices for discovering the potential medications against the emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases. Given the importance of SBDR approaches, in the present review, well-known SBDR methods are summarized, and their merits are investigated. Then, the databases and software applications, utilized for repurposing the drugs against COVID-19, are introduced. Besides, the identified drugs are categorized based on their targets. Finally, a comparison is made between the SBDR approaches and other DR methods, and some possible future directions are proposed.

In December 2019, an outbreak of a respiratory disease called the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by a new coronavirus known as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) began in Wuhan, China. The SARS-CoV-2, an encapsulated positive-stranded RNA virus, spread worldwide with disastrous consequences for people’s health, economies, and quality of life. The disease has had far-reaching impacts on society, including economic disruption, school closures, and increased stress and anxiety. It has also highlighted disparities in healthcare access and outcomes, with marginalized communities disproportionately affected by the SARS-CoV-2. The symptoms of COVID-19 range from mild to severe. There is presently no effective cure. Nevertheless, significant progress has been made in developing COVID-19 vaccine for different therapeutic targets. For instance, scientists developed multifold vaccine candidates shortly after the COVID-19 outbreak after Pfizer and AstraZeneca discovered the initial COVID-19 vaccines. These vaccines reduce disease spread, severity, and mortality. The addition of rapid diagnostics to microscopy for COVID-19 diagnosis has proven crucial. Our review provides a thorough overview of the historical development of COVID-19 and molecular and biochemical characterization of the SARS-CoV-2. We highlight the potential contributions from insect and plant sources as anti-SARS-CoV-2 and present directions for future research.

The review outlines coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 morphology, life cycle, and essential proteins, focusing on a design strategy for dual-acting inhibitors for PLpro and Mpro proteases.

Despite the fact that coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) treatment and management are now considerably regulated, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is still one of the leading causes of death in 2022. The availability of COVID-19 vaccines, FDA-approved antivirals, and monoclonal antibodies in low-income countries still poses an issue to be addressed. Natural products, particularly traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) and medicinal plant extracts (or their active component), have challenged the dominance of drug repurposing and synthetic compound libraries in COVID-19 therapeutics. Their abundant resources and excellent antiviral performance make natural products a relatively cheap and readily available alternative for COVID-19 therapeutics. Here, we deliberately review the anti-SARS-CoV-2 mechanisms of the natural products, their potency (pharmacological profiles), and application strategies for COVID-19 intervention. In light of their advantages, this review is intended to acknowledge the potential of natural products as COVID-19 therapeutic candidates.

The current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak is alarmingly escalating and raises challenges in finding efficient compounds for treatment. Repurposing phytochemicals in herbs is an ideal and economical approach for screening potential herbal components against COVID-19. Andrographis paniculata, also known as Chuan Xin Lian, has traditionally been used as an anti-inflammatory and antibacterial herb for centuries and has recently been classified as a promising herbal remedy for adjuvant therapy in treating respiratory diseases. This study aimed to screen Chuan Xin Lian’s bioactive components and elicit the potential pharmacological mechanisms and plausible pathways for treating COVID-19 using network pharmacology combined with molecular docking. The results found terpenoid (andrographolide) and flavonoid (luteolin, quercetin, kaempferol, and wogonin) derivatives had remarkable potential against COVID-19 and sequelae owing to their high degrees in the component-target-pathway network and strong binding capacities in docking scores. In addition, the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis showed that the PI3K-AKT signaling pathway might be the most vital molecular pathway in the pathophysiology of COVID-19 and long-term sequelae whereby therapeutic strategies can intervene.