The Role of Medicinal Plants in the Treatment of Coronavirus Infections
January 2022
in “
Annals of Institute of Biology University of Sarajevo
”
Studysummary This study reviewed previous research and highlights the potential of plant-derived compounds as anti-coronaviral agents, emphasizing the inhibition of viral enzymes and the need for further natural-origin antiviral investigations. Our plain-language summary of this paper — not a Tressless recommendation.
The study reviewed the role of medicinal plants in treating coronavirus infections, focusing on 73 plant species from 46 families with reported anti-coronavirus activity over a 27-year period. The Fabaceae family was the most prevalent, comprising 9.59% of the species. Many bioactive compounds were secondary metabolites, primarily isolated from leaves, and demonstrated activity against six coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2. A common antiviral mechanism was the inhibition of 3-chymotrypsin-like protease, 3Clpro. The study highlighted the potential of plant-derived compounds as antiviral agents, suggesting future research should focus on isolating and characterizing these natural compounds due to the high mutation rates and resistance of viruses to synthetic drugs.
