Malabaricone C isolated from edible plants as a potential inhibitor of SARS-CoV-2 infection

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 15; no. 1; pp. 8518 - 10
• Main Authors: Mutmainah, Murai, Yuta, Fujimoto, Ai, Kawamura, Rintaro, Kitamura, Akira, Koolath, Sajeer, Usuki, Seigo, Sasaki, Michihito, Orba, Yasuko, Igarashi, Yasuyuki, Sawa, Hirofumi, Sato, Akihiko, Monde, Kenji
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 12.03.2025; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 631/92/287; 631/92/349; 692/4017; Animals; Antiviral Agents - chemistry; Antiviral Agents - isolation & purification; Antiviral Agents - pharmacology; Cell fusion; Chlorocebus aethiops; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; COVID-19 - virology; COVID-19 Drug Treatment; Global health; HEK293 Cells; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Mammalian cells; multidisciplinary; Natural & organic foods; Nucleotide analogs; Plants, Edible - chemistry; Public health; SARS-CoV-2 - drug effects; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Sphingomyelin; Vero Cells; Viral infections; Virus Internalization - drug effects
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-83633-8
• ISSN: 2045-2322

Although the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic worldwide has gradually decreased, in some areas, the situation has not yet been stamped and has become a global health emergency. It is quite possible that we could again be threatened by a new coronavirus. Therefore, new nucleotide analog drugs and vaccines or using drug repositioning for SARS-CoV-2 still has been developed, yet their safety and efficacy against COVID‐19 remains underexplored. Malabaricone C is 2,6-dihydroxyphenyl acylphenol found in edible plants such as the mace spice of nutmeg derived from the seeds of Myristica fragrans . In this study, we identified malabaricone C as the first inhibitor of SARS-CoV-2 from natural food with a safe alternative for drugs. Malabaricone C and its chemical derivatives showed EC 50 values of 1–1.5 μM against SARS-CoV-2 (WK-521, ancestral strain) and its variant strains in mammalian cells (HEK293T and Vero E6). In addition, we have successfully established novel evaluation system for the inhibition of SARS virus cell fusion by visualization for providing a versatile tool for study SARS-CoV-2 mediated fusion. Furthermore, our experiments suggested that malabaricone C could affect the distribution of sphingomyelin on the plasma membrane, which involves in viral infections. Thus, in light of the beneficial effect of malabaricone C on viral infection, the nontoxic malabaricone C is a suitable candidate as a drug that can be employed in the treatment and prevention of COVID-19. Moreover, it may potentially be used to treat acute infections of other enveloped viruses.