Thota Kanishka Rao, Amity University Kolkata
Chemical compounds in some food or beverages, like green tea, muscadine grapes, and dark chocolate have been known to bind to and block the function of a protease, in the SARS-CoV-2 virus, according to researchers. Proteases are essential to the health and viability of cells and viruses. On the off chance that proteases are hindered, cells can’t perform numerous functions – like replication, for instance.
One of the experiment’s main focus was to find nutraceuticals in food or medicinal plants that either inhibit how viruses bind to human cells or the propagation of a virus in human cells. In the study, researchers showed studies that the main protease (Mpro) in the SARS-CoV-2 virus responded when confronted with various distinctive plant compounds known for their strong anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Mpro in SARS-CoV-2 is required for the virus to replicate and assemble itself. The virus is believed to cease to exist if the protease is inhibited or deactivated.
PC simulations demonstrated that the chemical compounds from green tea, two assortments of muscadine grapes, cacao powder and dark chocolate could bind to various bits of Mpro. It has a ‘pocket’ like portion that gets filled with chemical compounds, leading to the protease losing its activity.
In vitro lab experiments showed that green tea and muscadine grapes contain compounds that bind to different sites in the pocket on Mpro, in turn being very successful at inhibiting Mpro’s function. The chemical compounds in cacao powder and dark chocolate reduced Mpro activity by about half.
Plants utilise these compounds to protect themselves, so it isn’t astonishing that plant leaves and skins contain these beneficial compounds.
Also read: INDIA’S CALL FOR PFIZER AGAINST COVID 19
Source:
“Docking Characterization and in vitro Inhibitory Activity of Flavan-3-ols and Dimeric Proanthocyanidins Against the Main Protease Activity of SARS-Cov-2″ by Yue Zhu and De-Yu Xie, 30 November 2020, Frontiers in Plant Science. DOI: http://10.3389/fpls.2020.601316
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