Potentials of Medicinal Plants and Herbal Drugs in Management of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)

Abstract

The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-related Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) or novel coronavirus (COVID-19) infection has been declared world pandemic and has resulted in a number of deaths, especially among vulnerable citizens, in more than 216 countries worldwide. The disease appeared in late December 2019 in Wuhan (China) as a result of zoonotic transmission. SARS-CoV-2 was shown to share 96% of the genomic identity with the related bat coronavirus and was found to be 91.02% identical to that of the Pangolin-CoV, raising the possibility that the latter acted as an intermediate zoonotic host between bats and humans. Although several therapeutic molecules are being tested, no specific treatments have been developed. Different herbal products (extracts) and purified molecules may exert their anti-SARS-CoV-2 actions by direct inhibition of the virus replication or entry. Some may block the ACE-2 receptor or the serine protease TMPRRS2 required by SARS-CoV-2 to infect human cells. Additionally, natural products were shown to inhibit the SARS-CoV-2 life-cycle related proteins such as papain-like or chymotrypsin-like proteases. Since the COVID-19 outbreak, different traditional herbal medicines with promising results have been used alone or in combination with conventional drugs to treat infected patients and Ayurveda, the indigenous medical science of India, have played a crucial role in this regard. Here, we have discussed about the use of prominent plant based natural products to prevent or treat COVID-19 infection. We conducted literature review using PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, and WHO website and it was concluded that more studies are required for proper understanding of the mechanisms responsible for the preventive or therapeutic effects of the natural compounds derived from medicinal plants against this deadly virus.