The Use of Plant Steroids in Viral Disease Treatments: Current Status and Future Perspectives
Plants have been used for the prevention and treatment of diseases since the early days of humankind and constitute the natural sources of today’s modern medicine. Approximately one-quarter of approved drugs are derived from plants. Plant steroids are a group of biologically active secondary metabol...
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Istanbul University Press
2023-06-01
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| Series: | European Journal of Biology |
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| Online Access: | https://cdn.istanbul.edu.tr/file/JTA6CLJ8T5/0C78E2F97D154DEB90B2B4C4A1205F38 |
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| author | Pınar Obakan Yerlikaya Elif Damla Arısan Leila Mehdizadehtapeh Pınar Uysal Onganer Ajda Çoker Gürkan |
| author_facet | Pınar Obakan Yerlikaya Elif Damla Arısan Leila Mehdizadehtapeh Pınar Uysal Onganer Ajda Çoker Gürkan |
| author_sort | Pınar Obakan Yerlikaya |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Plants have been used for the prevention and treatment of diseases since the early days of humankind and constitute the natural sources of today’s modern medicine. Approximately one-quarter of approved drugs are derived from plants. Plant steroids are a group of biologically active secondary metabolites with a 5α and 5β gonane carbon skeleton. There is immense chemical diversity in plant steroids due to the side chains, oxidation status of the carbons in the tetracyclic core, and methyl groups. Plant steroids are classified into several groups based on their biological functions and structures, also on their mechanism of biosynthesis. All subtypes have been investigated for their anti-cancer, immunomodulatory, anti inflammatory, and anti-viral properties. The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), which carries an RNA genome. An intense effort has been made in terms of effective treatment strategies and vaccine development since it was declared a pandemic. Nucleoside analogs such as favipiravir and remdesivir are used to block RNA-dependent RNA polymerase enzymes. Other strategies including neuraminidase inhibitors, chloroquine, and hydroxychloroquine as immunomodulatory agents, stem cell and cytokine-based therapies are being conducted. One part of the therapies against SARS-CoV-2 is focused on the spike (S) protein of the virus that binds to the host receptor, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). It has been suggested that SARS-CoV-2 S protein has a free fatty acid binding pocket, and according to molecular simulations, steroids are ligands that bind to this pocket. Therefore, this review summarizes the plant steroid biological actions as well as their anti-viral potential against SARS-CoV-2 infection. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-423192f277a64d659a09f266a05c42e1 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2618-6144 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | Istanbul University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | European Journal of Biology |
| spelling | doaj-art-423192f277a64d659a09f266a05c42e12025-08-20T03:11:02ZengIstanbul University PressEuropean Journal of Biology2618-61442023-06-01821869410.26650/EurJBiol.2023.1130357123456The Use of Plant Steroids in Viral Disease Treatments: Current Status and Future PerspectivesPınar Obakan Yerlikaya0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7058-955XElif Damla Arısan1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4844-6381Leila Mehdizadehtapeh2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8759-5016Pınar Uysal Onganer3https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3190-8831Ajda Çoker Gürkan4https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1475-2417İstanbul Medeniyet Üniversitesi, İstanbul, TürkiyeGebze Teknik Üniversitesi, Kocaeli, Turkiyeİstanbul Sabahattin Zaim Üniversitesi, Istanbul, TurkiyeUniversity of Westminster, London, United-KingdomMarmara Üniversitesi, İstanbul, TürkiyePlants have been used for the prevention and treatment of diseases since the early days of humankind and constitute the natural sources of today’s modern medicine. Approximately one-quarter of approved drugs are derived from plants. Plant steroids are a group of biologically active secondary metabolites with a 5α and 5β gonane carbon skeleton. There is immense chemical diversity in plant steroids due to the side chains, oxidation status of the carbons in the tetracyclic core, and methyl groups. Plant steroids are classified into several groups based on their biological functions and structures, also on their mechanism of biosynthesis. All subtypes have been investigated for their anti-cancer, immunomodulatory, anti inflammatory, and anti-viral properties. The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), which carries an RNA genome. An intense effort has been made in terms of effective treatment strategies and vaccine development since it was declared a pandemic. Nucleoside analogs such as favipiravir and remdesivir are used to block RNA-dependent RNA polymerase enzymes. Other strategies including neuraminidase inhibitors, chloroquine, and hydroxychloroquine as immunomodulatory agents, stem cell and cytokine-based therapies are being conducted. One part of the therapies against SARS-CoV-2 is focused on the spike (S) protein of the virus that binds to the host receptor, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). It has been suggested that SARS-CoV-2 S protein has a free fatty acid binding pocket, and according to molecular simulations, steroids are ligands that bind to this pocket. Therefore, this review summarizes the plant steroid biological actions as well as their anti-viral potential against SARS-CoV-2 infection.https://cdn.istanbul.edu.tr/file/JTA6CLJ8T5/0C78E2F97D154DEB90B2B4C4A1205F38in silicoplant steroidsanti-viral drugsars-cov-2 |
| spellingShingle | Pınar Obakan Yerlikaya Elif Damla Arısan Leila Mehdizadehtapeh Pınar Uysal Onganer Ajda Çoker Gürkan The Use of Plant Steroids in Viral Disease Treatments: Current Status and Future Perspectives European Journal of Biology in silico plant steroids anti-viral drug sars-cov-2 |
| title | The Use of Plant Steroids in Viral Disease Treatments: Current Status and Future Perspectives |
| title_full | The Use of Plant Steroids in Viral Disease Treatments: Current Status and Future Perspectives |
| title_fullStr | The Use of Plant Steroids in Viral Disease Treatments: Current Status and Future Perspectives |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Use of Plant Steroids in Viral Disease Treatments: Current Status and Future Perspectives |
| title_short | The Use of Plant Steroids in Viral Disease Treatments: Current Status and Future Perspectives |
| title_sort | use of plant steroids in viral disease treatments current status and future perspectives |
| topic | in silico plant steroids anti-viral drug sars-cov-2 |
| url | https://cdn.istanbul.edu.tr/file/JTA6CLJ8T5/0C78E2F97D154DEB90B2B4C4A1205F38 |
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