Antiviral activity of bioactive phytocompounds against coronavirus: An update

• Published in: Journal of virological methods Vol. 290; p. 114070
• Main Authors: Bhattacharya, Riya, Dev, Kamal, Sourirajan, Anuradha
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 01.04.2021
• Subjects: Antiviral; Antiviral Agents - chemistry; Antiviral Agents - pharmacology; Antiviral Agents - therapeutic use; Coronavirus - classification; Coronavirus - drug effects; Coronavirus - physiology; Coronavirus Infections - diagnosis; Coronavirus Infections - drug therapy; Coronavirus Infections - virology; COVID-19, mechanism; Genome, Viral; Humans; MERS-CoV; Phytochemicals - chemistry; Phytochemicals - pharmacology; Phytochemicals - therapeutic use; Phytocompounds; Plants, Medicinal - chemistry; SARS-CoV; SARS-CoV-2; Viral Proteins - antagonists & inhibitors; Viral Proteins - metabolism; Phytocompounds; Antiviral; SARS-CoV-2; MERS-CoV; COVID-19, mechanism; SARS-CoV
• ISSN: 0166-0934; 1879-0984
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jviromet.2021.114070

[Display omitted] •Comparative analysis of MERS, and SARS coronaviruses genomes reveals differences in the SARS-Cov2 genome.•Phytocompounds from medicinal plants exhibit potential to inhibit SARS-CoV 2 infection at multiple levels.•Phytocompounds can be an effective alternative for the treatment of viral infections, including Coronaviruses. Viral infections are one of the main cause of diseases worldwide due to the rising trends of migration, urbanization and global mobility of humans. The outbreak of corona virus diseases caused by SARS-CoV (year 2003), MERS-CoV (year 2012) and SARS-CoV-2 (year 2019) raised global health concerns. The side effects associated with the conventional drugs and increase in cases of anti-microbial resistance have led the researchers to switch to natural sources, especially plants, as they have immense potential to be used as antiviral agents. The aim of the article is to summarize the evidences of the bioactive phytocompounds from different plants as an effective alternative for the treatment of infections caused by coronaviruses. However, the use of most plant compounds succumbs to limitations due to lack of experimental evidences and safety studies. Therefore, further research and studies are required to validate their therapeutic uses for wide application of plant-based medicine, including anti-virals.