Abstract
COVID-19—a severe acute respiratory syndrome disease caused by coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)—has recently attracted global attention, due to its devastating impact, to the point of being declared a pandemic. The search for new natural therapeutic drugs is mandatory, as the screening of already-known antiviral drugs so far has led to poor results. Several species of marine algae have been reported as sources of bioactive metabolites with potential antiviral and immunomodulatory activities, among others. Some of these bioactive metabolites might be able to act as antimicrobial drugs and also against viral infections by inhibiting their replication. Moreover, they could also trigger immunity against viral infection in humans and could be used as protective agents against COVID-In this context, this article reviews the main antiviral activities of bioactive metabolites from marine algae and their potential exploitation as anti-SARS-CoV-2 drugs.
Highlights
Introduction published maps and institutional affilThe World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed the emergence of a novel coronavirus on 12 January 2020 in Wuhan, China and named the derived pathology “coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)”, an acute respiratory tract infection [1]
Polysaccharides extracted from Spirulina platensis have shown antiviral activity against various viruses, such as measles virus, herpes simplex virus (HSV) type 1, influenza A virus, human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), mumps virus, and human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1), in several human cell lines [12]
Algae-derived bioactive metabolites such as lectins and polysaccharides, including carrageenan, nostoflan, microvirin, galactans, and cyanovirin, have been proposed as potential drugs against SARS-CoV-Sulfated polysaccharides bind to SARS-CoV-2 S-protein and function as diversions, preventing S-protein binding to the heparin sulfate co-receptor in host tissues and thereby preventing viral infection [83]
Summary
Coronaviruses (CoVs) are single-stranded RNA viruses that can infect both humans and animals, causing a variety of respiratory and intestinal illnesses as well as life-threatening conditions, such as bronchiolitis and pneumonia [15]. The International Committee on Virus Taxonomy (ICTV) classified the 2019 new coronavirus as SARS-CoV-2 [17,18]. Similar to the other coronaviruses, SARS-CoV-2 has a spherical shape and is made up of a capsid formed by the nucleocapsid protein (N-protein) with the viral. A cover is present on the capsid, from which several structural proteins are produced. Membrane (M) proteins, spike (S) proteins, and envelope (E) proteins are three important structural components of the envelope shell [19]. The S-proteins protrude from the surface and mediate the virus’s entry into the host cell, stretching the virus’s crown-like appearance (Figure 1)
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