Abstract
The novel and highly pathogenic severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), has become a continued focus of global attention due to the serious threat it poses to public health. There are no specific drugs available to combat SARS-CoV-2 infection. Natural products (carolacton, homoharringtonine, emetine, and cepharanthine) and natural product-inspired small molecules (ivermectin, GS-5734, EIDD-2801, and ebselen) are potential anti-SARS-CoV-2 agents that have attracted significant attention due to their broad-spectrum antiviral activities. Here, we review the research on potential landmark anti-SARS-CoV-2 agents, systematically discussing the importance of natural products and natural-product-inspired small molecules in the research and development of safe and effective antiviral agents.
Highlights
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), continues to be the subject of global attention due to the serious threat it poses to public health (Wang et al, 2020; Zhu et al, 2020)
Since the start of the multinational COVID-19 outbreak, significant progress has been made in identifying natural products and natural-product-inspired small molecules that may serve as anti-SARS-CoV-2 drugs
Global attention continues to be focused on COVID-19 due to its serious threat to public health
Summary
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), continues to be the subject of global attention due to the serious threat it poses to public health (Wang et al, 2020; Zhu et al, 2020). Multiple lines of evidence have shown the potential usefulness of homoharringtonine and emetine as treatments for viral infections, but further research is needed to explore whether they exhibit anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity in vivo. The bisbenzylisoquinoline alkaloid cepharanthine is a natural product isolated from the plant Stephania cephalantha, which is used as a traditional herbal medicine (Figure 3) (Bailly, 2019) This approved drug has significant bioactivity against several diseases, with anti-viral, anti-malarial, and anti-cancer effects (Fang et al, 2013). The C-nucleoside analog GS-5734 (remdesivir), a broadspectrum antiviral agent developed by Gilead Sciences (Warren et al, 2016), exhibited promising clinical efficacy in the treatment of the first US case of SARS-CoV-2 infection (Holshue et al, 2020).
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