Biochemical and Computational Approach of Selected Phytocompounds from <i>Tinospora crispa</i> in the Management of COVID-19
Ahmed Rakib,
Arkajyoti Paul,
Md. Nazim Uddin Chy,
Saad Ahmed Sami,
Sumit Kumar Baral,
Mohuya Majumder,
Abu Montakim Tareq,
Mohammad Nurul Amin,
Asif Shahriar,
Md. Zia Uddin,
Mycal Dutta,
Trina Ekawati Tallei,
Talha Bin Emran,
Jesus Simal-Gandara
Affiliations
Ahmed Rakib
Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Chittagong, Chittagong 4331, Bangladesh
Arkajyoti Paul
Drug Discovery, GUSTO A Research Group, Chittagong 4000, Bangladesh
Md. Nazim Uddin Chy
Drug Discovery, GUSTO A Research Group, Chittagong 4000, Bangladesh
Saad Ahmed Sami
Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Chittagong, Chittagong 4331, Bangladesh
Sumit Kumar Baral
Department of Microbiology, Jagannath University, Dhaka 1100, Bangladesh
Mohuya Majumder
Drug Discovery, GUSTO A Research Group, Chittagong 4000, Bangladesh
Abu Montakim Tareq
Department of Pharmacy, International Islamic University Chittagong, Chittagong 4318, Bangladesh
Mohammad Nurul Amin
Department of Pharmacy, Atish Dipankar University of Science and Technology, Dhaka 1230, Bangladesh
Asif Shahriar
Department of Microbiology, Stamford University Bangladesh, 51 Siddeswari Road, Dhaka 1217, Bangladesh
Md. Zia Uddin
Department of Pharmacy, BGC Trust University Bangladesh, Chittagong 4381, Bangladesh
Mycal Dutta
Department of Pharmacy, BGC Trust University Bangladesh, Chittagong 4381, Bangladesh
Trina Ekawati Tallei
Department of Biology, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Sam Ratulangi University, Manado 95115, Indonesia
Talha Bin Emran
Department of Pharmacy, BGC Trust University Bangladesh, Chittagong 4381, Bangladesh
Jesus Simal-Gandara
Nutrition and Bromatology Group, Department of Analytical and Food Chemistry, Faculty of Food Science and Technology, University of Vigo–Ourense Campus, E32004 Ourense, Spain
A pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19) began in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, and the number of newly reported cases continues to increase. More than 19.7 million cases have been reported globally and about 728,000 have died as of this writing (10 August 2020). Recently, it has been confirmed that the SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro) enzyme is responsible not only for viral reproduction but also impedes host immune responses. The Mpro provides a highly favorable pharmacological target for the discovery and design of inhibitors. Currently, no specific therapies are available, and investigations into the treatment of COVID-19 are lacking. Therefore, herein, we analyzed the bioactive phytocompounds isolated by gas chromatography–mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) from Tinospora crispa as potential COVID-19 Mpro inhibitors, using molecular docking study. Our analyses unveiled that the top nine hits might serve as potential anti-SARS-CoV-2 lead molecules, with three of them exerting biological activity and warranting further optimization and drug development to combat COVID-19.
