bioRxiv: Baicalin can effectively inhibit SARS-CoV-2

Severe acute respiratory syndrome type 2 coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) can cause coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in humans, and there is currently no cure. The 3c protease (3CLpro) is a highly conserved protease that is essential in the process of coronavirus replication and is a promising target for the development of broad-spectrum antiviral drugs.

In order to speed up drug discovery and development, researchers from Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, China University of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shanghai University of Science and Technology and other units have studied the inhibitory effect of Natural Products from traditional Chinese medicine on SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro. The results were published online on April 15 in the bioprinter platform bioRxiv. The title of the paper is "In vitro discovery of yellow glucoside and yellow glucoside as novel natural product Inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 3CL protease".

The researchers found in the cell experiment that these two components showed strong resistance in the cell system. The researchers discovered for the first time non-covalent, non-doped SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro inhibitors-baicalin and BAICALEIN. Viral activity.

Obviously, the combination of baicalein with SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro determined by x-ray protein crystallography is significantly different from known inhibitors. Baicalein is perfectly fixed in the center of the substrate binding site through the interaction with two catalytic residues (key S1 / S2 subsite and oxyanion ring), replacing the "shield" before the catalytic binary To prevent the peptide substrate from approaching the active site.

In general, the simple chemical structure, unique mode of action and strong in vitro antiviral activity of baicalein, together with good clinical trial safety data, provide a huge potential for the development of baicalein as a much-needed anti-coronavirus drug opportunity.