Alkaloids: Therapeutic Potential against Human Coronaviruses

• Published in: Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 25; no. 23; p. 5496
• Main Authors: Fielding, Burtram C, da Silva Maia Bezerra Filho, Carlos, Ismail, Nasser S M, Sousa, Damião Pergentino de
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 24.11.2020; MDPI
• Subjects: Alkaloids; Alkaloids - chemistry; Alkaloids - therapeutic use; Amino acids; Antiviral activity; Antiviral agents; Antiviral Agents - chemistry; Antiviral Agents - therapeutic use; antiviral drug; Binding; Cancer; Cell culture; Coronaviridae; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; COVID-19 - drug therapy; COVID-19 - virology; Drug development; Drug dosages; Drugs; Epidemics; Hepatitis; Herbal medicine; Humans; Infections; Influenza; MERS-CoV; Middle East respiratory syndrome; Natural products; Nitrogen; Pandemics; Prototypes; SARS-CoV; SARS-CoV-2 - chemistry; SARS-CoV-2 - drug effects; Severe acute respiratory syndrome; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus - antagonists & inhibitors; Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus - chemistry; Spike protein; Viruses; COVID-19; natural products; SARS-CoV-2; antiviral drug; SARS-CoV; MERS-CoV; coronaviruses; virus
• ISSN: 1420-3049; 1420-3049
• DOI: 10.3390/molecules25235496

Alkaloids are a class of natural products known to have wide pharmacological activity and have great potential for the development of new drugs to treat a wide array of pathologies. Some alkaloids have antiviral activity and/or have been used as prototypes in the development of synthetic antiviral drugs. In this study, eleven anti-coronavirus alkaloids were identified from the scientific literature and their potential therapeutic value against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is discussed. In this study, in silico studies showed an affinity of the alkaloids for binding to the receptor-binding domain of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, putatively preventing it from binding to the host cell. Lastly, several mechanisms for the known anti-coronavirus activity of alkaloids were discussed, showing that the alkaloids are interesting compounds with potential use as bioactive agents against SARS-CoV-2.