Plant cysteine proteases: Potential therapeutic agents against SARS‐CoV‐2

Abstract

To the Editor, In late December 2019, a new coronavirus (severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 [SARS-CoV-2]) was identified as the etiologic agent, and the disease was named coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) (Nemudryi et al., 2020; WHO, 2021), which eventually spread across the world, leading to an unprecedented pandemic. Currently, vaccines are challenged by new variants of SARS-CoV-2. Thus, the search for new agents for effective COVID-19 treatment is required.