Efficacy of selected Nigerian tropical plants in the treatment of COVID-19: in silico and in vitro investigations

Abstract

The whole world is still challenged with COVID-19 pandemic caused by Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) which has affected millions of individuals around the globe. Although there are prophylactic vaccines being used, till now, there is ongoing research into discovery of drug candidates for total eradication of all types of coronaviruses. In this context, this study sought to investigate the inhibitory effects of six selected tropical plants against four pathogenic proteins of Coronavirus-2. The medicinal plants used in this study were selected based on their traditional applications in herbal medicine to treat COVID-19 and related symptoms. The biological activities (antioxidant, free radical scavenging, and anti-inflammatory activities) of the extracts of the plants were assessed using different standard procedures. The phytochemicals present in the extracts were identified using GCMS and further screened via in silico molecular docking. The data from this study demonstrated that the phytochemicals of the selected tropical medicinal plants displayed substantial binding affinity to the binding pockets of the four main pathogenic proteins of Coronavirus-2 indicating them as putative inhibitors of Coronavirus-2 and as potential anti-coronavirus drug candidates. The reaction between these phytocompounds and proteins of Coronavirus-2 could alter the pathophysiology of COVID-19, thus mitigating its pathogenic reactions/activities. In conclusion, phytocompounds of these plants exhibited promising binding efficiency with target proteins of SARS-COV-2. Nevertheless, in vitro and in vivo studies are important to potentiate these findings. Other drug techniques or models are vital to elucidate their compatibility and usage as adjuvants in vaccine development against the highly contagious COVID-19 infection.

Evaluation of the Medicinal Potentials of Soursop (Annona muricata Safford) Leaf Extracts against Eimeria tenella Infection in Broiler Chickens

“…Totravet drug proved to be most effective in the treatment of coccidiosis among all drugs used because it treated the largest percentage of infected birds [7].…”

“…Parasitic diseases such as Coccidiosis are of particular importance because of their high incidence in poultry occasioned by the tropical environmental conditions under which the farmer operates [5]. Of all nine Eimeria species identified in poultry [6], Eimeria tenella and Eimeria maxima are the most common [7], causing tissue damage, lowered feed intake, poor absorption of nutrients from the feed, dehydration and blood loss [5].…”

Biochemical Composition, Toxicity and Bioactivities of the Essential Oil extracted from Coffea arabica L. husks against the Cotton Leafworm, Spodoptera littoralis (Boisduval) (Lepidoptera: Noctudiae)

“…2021b). the remaining nine constituents represented as all 8.2% of the oil extract from which the two compounds: Cyclononasiloxane, octadecamethyl-and N-Isobutyl-11-(3,4-methylenedioxyphenyl)-2E,4E,10Eundecatrienoic amide have insecticidal activities (Ojekale et al, 2013;Miyakado and Nakayama, 1981;Scott et al 2007), the 3-Oxatricyclo[4.2.0.0(2,4)]octan-7-one has an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effect (Oladele, et al 2022) and the Benzene, 1-methyl-3-(1-methylethyl)-exhibit antimicrobial, anti-cancer, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory activities (Marchese et al, 2017;Kiki and Ibrahim, 2020).…”