Black seeds (Nigella sativa) for the management of Dengue viral disease: POM analyses for the identification of new antiviral pharmacophore sites

Abstract

The number of Dengue virus (DENV) infection cases has increased dramatically over the past two decades with an estimate of 3.9 billion cases across the globe are potentially at risk. Patients with a DENV infection are managed symptomatically and by supportive care since there is no approved antiviral drug yet for its management. On the other hand, Nigella sativa has been highlighted as a potential antiviral particularly against DENV. Hence, the anti-DENV potential of N. sativa is analyzed in this review using major databases including Medline/PMC/PubMed, Scopus, EBSCO, EMBASE, Google Scholar, and Science Direct. Moreover, the Petra/Osiris/Molinspiration (POM) bioinformatics platform-2019 was used to analyze a series of compounds (1-15) identified in N. sativa(the Black seeds) to identify those with promising antiviral pharmacophore sites. Preliminary research showed the potential of N. sativa in the control of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes and the enhancement of platelet counts. Besides, several clinical, animal, in vitro and in vivo studies have demonstrated the antiviral, immunomodulatory and antiinflammatory properties of N. sativa. Furthermore, calculation of the physico-chemical properties of N. sativa compounds using POM analyses indicated that dithymoquinone possesses a potential antiviral activity with two (O, O’) pharmacophore sites. As a result, N. sativa can be employed as an adjuvant/ supportive therapy in the management of DENV infection in the early stages of the illness. Furthermore, N. sativa can be a source of new lead anti-DENV drug.