2,094
Views
11
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Research Articles

An in-silico evaluation of dietary components for structural inhibition of SARS-Cov-2 main protease

&
Pages 136-142 | Received 19 Jun 2020, Accepted 05 Aug 2020, Published online: 18 Aug 2020
 

Abstract

The main protease (Mpro) of SARS-CoV-2 is responsible for the cleavage of viral replicase polyproteins 1a and 1ab into their mature form and is highly specific and exclusive in its activity. Many studies have targeted this enzyme by small molecule inhibitors to develop therapeutics against the highly infectious disease Covid-19. Our diet contains many natural antioxidants which along with providing support for proper growth and functioning of the body, pose additional health benefits. Present in-silico analysis depicted that natural antioxidants like sesamin, ellagic acid, capsaisin, and epicatechin along with galangin, exhibited significant binding at the catalytic site of the Mpro enzyme. They interacted with excellent efficiency with the chief active site residue Cys145 and thus seem to possess the remarkable potential to act as drug candidates for the treatment of Covid-19. Such dietary compounds can be easily administered orally with least toxicity related concern and thus yell for urgent exhaustive research to develop into efficient therapies.

Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.