Natural Bioactive Molecules as Potential Agents Against SARS-CoV-2

• Main Authors: Wei Chen, Zhihao Wang, Yawen Wang, Yiping Li
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2021-08-01
• Series: Frontiers in Pharmacology
• Subjects: coronavirus; COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; antiviral agents; natural bioactive molecules; therapeutic targets
• Online Access: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphar.2021.702472/full

In the past two decades, pandemics of several fatal coronaviruses have posed enormous challenges for public health, including SARS-CoV (2003), MERS-CoV (2012), and SARS-CoV-2 (2019). Among these, SARS-CoV-2 continues to ravage the world today and has lead to millions of deaths and incalculable economic damage. Till now, there is no clinically proven antiviral drug available for SARS-CoV-2. However, the bioactive molecules of natural origin, especially medicinal plants, have been proven to be potential resources in the treatment of SARS-CoV-2, acting at different stages of the viral life cycle and targeting different viral or host proteins, such as PLpro, 3CLpro, RdRp, helicase, spike, ACE2, and TMPRSS2. They provide a viable strategy to develop therapeutic agents. This review presents fundamental biological information on SARS-CoV-2, including the viral biological characteristics and invasion mechanisms. It also summarizes the reported natural bioactive molecules with anti-coronavirus properties, arranged by their different targets in the life cycle of viral infection of human cells, and discusses the prospects of these bioactive molecules for the treatment of COVID-19.