Abstract
Flavonoids are widely used as phytomedicines. Here, we report on flavonoid phytomedicines with potential for development into prophylactics or therapeutics against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). These flavonoid-based phytomedicines include: caflanone, Equivir, hesperetin, myricetin, and Linebacker. Our in silico studies show that these flavonoid-based molecules can bind with high affinity to the spike protein, helicase, and protease sites on the ACE2 receptor used by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 to infect cells and cause COVID-19. Meanwhile, in vitro studies show potential of caflanone to inhibit virus entry factors including, ABL-2, cathepsin L, cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, Mip-1α, TNF-α), and PI4Kiiiβ as well as AXL-2, which facilitates mother-to-fetus transmission of coronavirus. The potential for the use of smart drug delivery technologies like nanoparticle drones loaded with these phytomedicines to overcome bioavailability limitations and improve therapeutic efficacy are discussed.
Highlights
The 2019 outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) catapulted governments and scientists in a race to find a vaccine or drug for the prevention or treatment of this deadly pandemic
It is well established that SARS-CoV-2 uses the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2)
These preliminary works indicate that flavonoids could bind with high affinity to the spike protein, helicase, and protease sites on the ACE2 receptor causing conformational change to inhibit viral entry of coronaviruses
Summary
The 2019 outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) catapulted governments and scientists in a race to find a vaccine or drug for the prevention or treatment of this deadly pandemic. Phytomedicine, the use of medicinal plants for prevention and treatment of disease, is of growing importance worldwide [3], but has been largely absent in global health as in the case of COVID-19. A number of studies have surfaced on the use of Chinese traditional medicines including phytomedicines on the treatment of COVID-19 and there are anecdotal reports on phytomedicines. Cross-disciplinary research collaborations could overcome these barriers and help accelerate development of effective evidence-based phytomedicines for COVID-19, that would be widely accessible in developing countries where over 80% of the population uses phytomedicine. Flavonoids have been reported to possess various disease prevention and treatment potential including against viruses [6,7]. We report new findings on a number of flavonoid phytomedicines with potential for development into
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