Tito Annalisa, Colantuono Antonio, Pirone Luciano, Pedone Emilia, Intartaglia Daniela, Giamundo Giuliana, Conte Ivan, Vitaglione Paola, Apone Fabio
Arterra Bioscience SPA, Naples, Italy.
Institute of Biostructures and Bioimaging, National Research Council, Naples, Italy.
Front Chem. 2021 Apr 28;9:638187. doi: 10.3389/fchem.2021.638187. eCollection 2021.
Plant extracts are rich in bioactive compounds, such as polyphenols, sesquiterpenes, and triterpenes, which potentially have antiviral activities. As a consequence of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus, thousands of scientists have been working tirelessly trying to understand the biology of this new virus and the disease pathophysiology, with the main goal of discovering effective preventive treatments and therapeutic agents. Plant-derived secondary metabolites may play key roles in preventing and counteracting the rapid spread of SARS-CoV-2 infections by inhibiting the activity of several viral proteins, in particular those involved in the virus entry into the host cells and its replication. Using approaches, we investigated the role of a pomegranate peel extract (PPE) in attenuating the interaction between the SARS-CoV-2 Spike glycoprotein and the human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 receptor, and on the activity of the virus 3CL protease. Although further studies will be determinant to assess the efficacy of this extract , our results opened new promising opportunities to employ natural extracts for the development of effective and innovative therapies in the fight against SARS-CoV-2.
植物提取物富含生物活性化合物，如多酚、倍半萜和三萜，它们可能具有抗病毒活性。由于严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2（SARS-CoV-2）引发的2019年冠状病毒病大流行，数千名科学家一直在不懈努力，试图了解这种新病毒的生物学特性和疾病病理生理学，主要目标是发现有效的预防治疗方法和治疗药物。植物衍生的次生代谢产物可能通过抑制几种病毒蛋白的活性，特别是那些参与病毒进入宿主细胞及其复制的蛋白的活性，在预防和对抗SARS-CoV-2感染的快速传播中发挥关键作用。我们采用多种方法，研究了石榴皮提取物（PPE）在减弱SARS-CoV-2刺突糖蛋白与人血管紧张素转换酶2受体之间相互作用以及对病毒3CL蛋白酶活性方面的作用。尽管进一步的研究对于评估这种提取物的疗效至关重要，但我们的结果为利用天然提取物开发对抗SARS-CoV-2的有效和创新疗法开辟了新的有希望的机会。
