Therapeutic Potential of EGCG, a Green Tea Polyphenol, for Treatment of Coronavirus Diseases.

Junsoo Park,Rackhyun Park,Minsu Jang,Yea-In Park

doi:10.3390/life11030197

Abstract

Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) is a major catechin found in green tea, and there is mounting evidence that EGCG is potentially useful for the treatment of coronavirus diseases, including coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Coronaviruses encode polyproteins that are cleaved by 3CL protease (the main protease) for maturation. Therefore, 3CL protease is regarded as the main target of antivirals against coronaviruses. EGCG is a major constituent of brewed green tea, and several studies have reported that EGCG inhibits the enzymatic activity of the coronavirus 3CL protease. Moreover, EGCG has been reported to regulate other potential targets, such as RNA-dependent RNA polymerase and the viral spike protein. Finally, recent studies have demonstrated that EGCG treatment interferes with the replication of coronavirus. In addition, the bioavailability of EGCG and future research prospects are discussed.

Highlights

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has impacted all aspects of society, leading to extensive investigations into remedies for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative virus of COVID-19
In this review, we have focused on the effects of EGCG against coronavirus diseases
These results indicate that EGCG can block coronavirus infection and coronavirus replication

Summary

Introduction

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has impacted all aspects of society, leading to extensive investigations into remedies for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative virus of COVID-19. 2. 3-Chymotrypsin-Like (3CL) Protease is the Major Therapeutic Target for Antivirals to Treat Coronavirus Disease. Human immunMany antiviral medicines have been developed to treat viral diseases, and virus-speodeficiency virus (HIV) encodes reverse transcriptase and protease, and inhibitors of cific enzymes are major targets for drug development. An in vitro enzymatic assay demonstrated that lopinavir-ritonavir did not efficiently inhibit SARS-CoV-2 3CL protease [30] These results suggest that 3CL protease is a validated target for coronavirus antiviral medicines. COVID-19 became a global pandemic, and the causal virus, SARS-CoV-2, attracted thethe inhibitory of EGCG against [38]. 0.847 μMtotobe μM,sensitive according to our results the SARS-CoV-2 protease more to EGCG than Sults suggest50that EGCG treatment is potentially more effective against SARS-CoV-2 than

Possible Regulation of other Targets besides 3CL Protease by EGCG

EGCG Inhibits Coronavirus Replication

Findings

In Vivo Distribution of EGCG