Myricitrin for COVID-19

The outbreak of SARS-CoV-2, also known as the COVID-19 pandemic, is still a critical risk factor for both human life and the global economy. Although, several promising therapies have been introduced in the literature to inhibit SARS-CoV-2, most of them are synthetic drugs that may have some adverse effects on the human body. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to carry out an in-silico investigation into the medicinal properties of Petiveria alliacea L. (P. alliacea L.)-mediated phytocompounds for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infections since phytochemicals have fewer adverse effects compared to synthetic drugs. To explore potential phytocompounds from P. alliacea L. as candidate drug molecules, we selected the infection-causing main protease (Mpro) of SARS-CoV-2 as the receptor protein. The molecular docking analysis of these receptor proteins with the different phytocompounds of P. alliacea L. was performed using AutoDock Vina. Then, we selected the three top-ranked phytocompounds (myricitrin, engeletin, and astilbin) as the candidate drug molecules based on their highest binding affinity scores of −8.9, −8.7 and −8.3 (Kcal/mol), respectively. Then, a 100 ns molecular dynamics (MD) simulation study was performed for their complexes with Mpro using YASARA software, computed RMSD, RMSF, PCA, DCCM, MM/PBSA, and free energy landscape (FEL), and found their almost stable binding performance. In addition, biological activity, ADME/T, DFT, and drug-likeness analyses exhibited the suitable pharmacokinetics properties of the selected phytocompounds. Therefore, the results of this study might be a useful resource for formulating a safe treatment plan for SARS-CoV-2 infections after experimental validation in wet-lab and clinical trials.

Abstract Aims The aim of the present review was to highlight natural product investigations in silico and in vitro to find plants and chemicals that inhibit or stimulate angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE-2). Background The global reduction of incidents and fatalities attributable to infections with SARS-CoV-2 is one of the most public health problems. In the absence of specific therapy for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), phytocompounds generated from plant extracts may be a promising strategy worth further investigation, motivating researchers to evaluate the safety and anti-SARS-CoV-2 effectiveness of these ingredients. Objective To review phytochemicals in silico for anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity and to assess their safety and effectiveness in vitro and in vivo. Methods The present review was conducted using various scientific databases and studies on anti-SARS-CoV-2 phytochemicals were analyzed and summarized. The results obtained from the in silico screening were subjected to extraction, isolation, and purification. The in vitro studies on anti-SarcoV-2 were also included in this review. In addition, the results of this research were interpreted, analyzed, and documented on the basis of the bibliographic information obtained. Results This review discusses recent research on using natural remedies to cure or prevent COVID-19 infection. The literature analysis shows that the various herbal preparations (extracts) and purified compounds can block the replication or entrance of the virus directly to carry out their anti-SARS-CoV-2 effects. It is interesting to note that certain items can prevent SARS-CoV-2 from infecting human cells by blocking the ACE-2 receptor or the serine protease TMPRRS2. Moreover, natural substances have been demonstrated to block proteins involved in the SARS-CoV-2 life cycle, such as papain- or chymotrypsin-like proteases. Conclusion The natural products may have the potential for use singly or in combination as alternative drugs to treat/prevent COVID-19 infection, including blocking or stimulating ACE-2. In addition, their structures may provide indications for the development of anti-SARS-CoV-2 drugs.

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 first cases of COVID-19, which is caused by the SARS-CoV-2, were reported in December 2019. The vertiginous worldwide expansion of SARS-CoV-2 caused the collapse of health systems in several countries due to the high severity of the COVID-19. In addition to the vaccines, the search for active compounds capable of preventing and/or fighting the infection has been the main direction of research. Since the beginning of this pandemic, some evidence has highlighted the importance of a phenolic-rich diet as a strategy to reduce the progression of this disease, including the severity of the symptoms. Some of these compounds (e.g., curcumin, gallic acid or quercetin) already showed capacity to limit the infection of viruses by inhibiting entry into the cell through its binding to protein Spike, regulating the expression of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2, disrupting the replication in cells by inhibition of viral proteases, and/or suppressing and modulating the host’s immune response. Therefore, this review intends to discuss the most recent findings on the potential of phenolics to prevent SARS-CoV-2.

Natural products and plant extracts exhibit many biological activities, including that related to the defense mechanisms against parasites. Many studies have investigated the biological functions of secondary metabolites and reported evidence of antiviral activities. The pandemic emergencies have further increased the interest in finding antiviral agents, and efforts are oriented to investigate possible activities of secondary plant metabolites against human viruses and their potential application in treating or preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection. In this review, we performed a comprehensive analysis of studies through in silico and in vitro investigations, also including in vivo applications and clinical trials, to evaluate the state of knowledge on the antiviral activities of secondary metabolites against human viruses and their potential application in treating or preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection, with a particular focus on natural compounds present in food plants. Although some of the food plant secondary metabolites seem to be useful in the prevention and as a possible therapeutic management against SARS-CoV-2, up to now, no molecules can be used as a potential treatment for COVID-19; however, more research is needed.

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‑19) is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) and is associated with a high level of mortality. Objective: This updated review aims to present the most important traditional medicinal plants and some of their secondary metabolites that have previously and more recently been shown to affect viruses and may represent a beneficial contributory step against SARS-CoV-2 as the cause of COVID-19. Moreover, the mechanism aspects of these secondary metabolites were discussed, which may help find more reliable drugs against SARS-CoV-2. Methods: Articles were searched in scientific websites including Google Scholar, Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, and IranMedex using the search terms herbal medicine and traditional medicine with coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, or COVID-19. Human, animal, and in vitro studies were identified in the search. Results: Medicinal plants and their secondary metabolites may possess a potential role in combating this disease, and researchers suggest that some of these plants and their constituent compounds have inhibitory activity on coronaviruses. Numerous medicinal plants, their extracts, and secondary metabolites have been investigated over a period of time for antiviral activity. Among them, kaempferol, silybin, myricitrin, licoleafol, and curcumin are promising agents with potential activity against SARS-CoV-2. Natural compounds can form strong bonds with the active sites of SARS-CoV-2 protease. Structural and non-structural SARS-CoV-2 proteins such as Spike protein, PLpro, and 3CLpro are inhibited by these phytochemicals. Conclusion: Prospective treatments targeted at the life cycle stages of the virus may eventuate from research endeavors, and it must not be discounted that therapy originally derived from plant secondary metabolite sources may potentially have a part to play.

Since it acquired pandemic status, SARS-CoV-2 has been causing all kinds of damage all over the world. More than 6.3 million people have died, and many cases of sequelae are in survivors. Currently, the only products available to most of the world’s population to fight the pandemic are vaccines, which still need improvement since the number of new cases, admissions into intensive care units, and deaths are again reaching worrying rates, which makes it essential to compounds that can be used during infection, reducing the impacts of the disease. Plant metabolites are recognized sources of diverse biological activities and are the safest way to research anti-SARS-CoV-2 compounds. The present study computationally evaluated 55 plant compounds in five SARS-CoV-2 targets such Main Protease (Mpro or 3CL or MainPro), RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp), Papain-Like Protease (PLpro), NSP15 Endoribonuclease, Spike Protein (Protein S or Spro) and human Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE-2) followed by in vitro evaluation of their potential for the inhibition of the interaction of the SARS-CoV-2 Spro with human ACE-2. The in silico results indicated that, in general, amentoflavone, 7-O-galloylquercetin, kaempferitrin, and gallagic acid were the compounds with the strongest electronic interaction parameters with the selected targets. Through the data obtained, we can demonstrate that although the indication of individual interaction of plant metabolites with both Spro and ACE-2, the metabolites evaluated were not able to inhibit the interaction between these two structures in the in vitro test. Despite this, these molecules still must be considered in the research of therapeutic agents for treatment of patients affected by COVID-19 since the activity on other targets and influence on the dynamics of viral infection during the interaction Spro x ACE-2 should be investigated.

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.

COVID-19 pandemic caused by the novel SARS-CoV-2 has impacted human livelihood globally. Strenuous efforts have been employed for its control and prevention; however, with recent reports on mutated strains with much higher infectivity, transmissibility, and ability to evade immunity developed from previous SARS-CoV-2 infections, prevention alternatives must be prepared beforehand in case. We have perused over 128 recent works (found on Google Scholar, PubMed, and ScienceDirect as of February 2023) on medicinal plants and their compounds for anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity and eventually reviewed 102 of them. The clinical application and the curative effect were reported high in China and in India. Accordingly, this review highlights the unprecedented opportunities offered by medicinal plants and their compounds, candidates as the therapeutic agent, against COVID-19 by acting as viral protein inhibitors and immunomodulator in (32 clinical trials and hundreds of in silico experiments) conjecture with modern science. Moreover, the associated foreseeable challenges for their viral outbreak management were discussed in comparison to synthetic drugs.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) has been spreading globally for over 2 years, causing serious contagious disease and incalculable damage. The introduction of vaccines has slowed the spread of SARS‐CoV‐2 to some extent, but there remains a need for specific and effective treatment. The high chemical diversity and safety profiles of natural products make them a potential source of effective anti‐SARS‐CoV‐2 drugs. Cotton plant is one of the most important economic and medical crops and is the source of a large number of antiviral phytochemicals. In this work, we used SARS‐CoV‐2 main protein (Mpro) as the target to identify potential anti‐SARS‐CoV‐2 natural products in cotton. An in vitro assay showed that of all cotton tissues examined, cotton flower extracts (CFs) exhibited optimal inhibitory effects against Mpro. We proceeded to use the CF metabolite database to screen natural Mpro inhibitors by combining virtual screening and biochemical assays. We identified that several CF natural products, including astragalin, myricitrin, and astilbin, significantly inhibited Mpro with half‐maximal inhibitory concentrations (IC50s) of 0.13, 10.73, and 7.92 μm, respectively. These findings may serve as a basis for further studies into the suitability of cotton as a source of potential therapeutics for SARS‐CoV‐2.