Current Update of Phytotherapeutic Agents in the Treatment of COVID-19: In-Silico Based Virtual Screening Approach for the Development of Antiviral Drug

Current Update of Phytotherapeutic Agents in the Treatment of COVID-19: In-Silico Based Virtual Screening Approach for the Development of Antiviral Drug

Veena Ramesh¹, Seema A. Kulkarni², Palaniyandi Velusamy^3,*, Velmurugan Devadasan⁴, Panneer Devaraju⁵, Kandathil Narayanan Rajnish^6,*, Thirumurthy Madhavan^6,*, Periasamy Anbu^7,*, Palaniappan Ramasamy³, Rajamanikandan Sundarraj³

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¹ StemOnc R&D Private Ltd, Kilpauk, 600 010 Chennai, Tamilnadu, India

² Department of Biotechnology, School of Bio-Engineering, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, SRM Nagar, Kattankulathur, 603 203 Chennai, India

³ Research and Development Wing, Central Research Laboratory, Sree Balaji Medical College and Hospital (SBMCH), Bharath Institute of Higher Education and Research (BIHER), 600 044 Chennai, TN, India

⁴ Centre of Advanced Study in Crystallography and Biophysics, University of Madras, 600 044 Chennai, India

⁵ Unit of One Health, ICMR-Vector Control Research Centre, 605 006 Puducherry, India

⁶ Department of Genetic Engineering, College of Engineering & Technology (CET), SRM Institute of Science and Technology, SRM Nagar, Kattankulathur, 603 203 Chennai, Tamilnadu, India

⁷ Department of Biological Engineering, College of Engineering, Inha University, 402-751 Incheon, Republic of Korea

^*Correspondence: vels73@gmail.com (Palaniyandi Velusamy); knrmku@gmail.com (Kandathil Narayanan Rajnish); thiru.murthyunom@gmail.com; thirumum@srmist.edu.in (Thirumurthy Madhavan); anbu25@inha.ac.kr (Periasamy Anbu)
Academic Editor: Marcello Iriti

Front. Biosci. (Landmark Ed) 2022, 27(4), 123; https://doi.org/10.31083/j.fbl2704123

Submitted: 28 December 2021 | Revised: 20 February 2022 | Accepted: 21 February 2022 | Published: 2 April 2022

This is an open access article under the CC BY 4.0 license.

Abstract

COVID-19, caused by the severe acquired respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), is a highly contagious disease that has emerged as a pandemic. Researchers and the medical fraternity are working towards the identification of anti-viral drug candidates. Meanwhile, several alternative treatment approaches are being explored to manage the disease effectively. Various phyto-drugs and essential oils have been reported to have antiviral activity, but this has not been well studied in the context of SARS-CoV-2. The main focus of this review is on the biology of infection and the different therapeutic strategies involved, including drug repurposing and phytopharmaceuticals. The role of phytochemicals in treating COVID-19 and various other diseases has also been emphasized.

Keywords

SARS-CoV-2

COVID-19

essential oils

phyto-drugs

ethnomedicine

ACE II receptors

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