Screening and Druggability Analysis of Marine Active Metabolites against SARS-CoV-2: An Integrative Computational Approach

Abstract

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections have triggered a recent pandemic of respiratory disease and affected almost every country all over the world. A large amount of natural bioactive compounds is under clinical investigation for various diseas-es. Especially, marine natural compounds are gaining more attention in the new drug develop-ment process. The present study has aimed to identify potential marine-derived inhibitors against the target proteins of COVID-19 using a computational approach. Currently, 16 marine clinical-level compounds were selected for computational screening against the four SARS-CoV-2 main proteases. Computational screening resulted from the best drug candidates for each target based on the binding affinity scores and amino acid interactions. Among these, five marine-derived compounds namely Chrysophaentin A (-6.6 kcal/mol), Geodisterol sulfates (-6.6 kcal/mol), Hymenidin (-6.4 kcal/mol), Plinabulin (-6.4 kcal/mol) and Tetrodotoxin (-6.3 kcal/mol) expressed the minimized binding energy and molecular interactions such as covalent and hydrophobic interactions to the SARS CoV-2 Main Protease. Using Molecular dynamic stud-ies, the Root-Mean-Square Deviation (RMSD), Root-Mean-Square Fluctuation (RMSF), Radius of Gyration (ROG), and Hydrogen bonds (H-Bonds) values were calculated for SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease with Hymenidin docked complex. Additionally, in silico Druglikeness and pharmaco-kinetic property assessments of the compounds demonstrated favorable druggability. These re-sults suggested that marine natural compounds are capable of fighting SARS-CoV-2. Further, in vitro and in vivo studies need to be carried out to confirm their inhibitory potential.