Discovery of alliin as a putative inhibitor of the main protease of SARS-CoV-2 by molecular docking

The outbreak of viral pneumonia caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 that began in December 2019 caused high mortality. It has been suggested that the main protease (Mpro) of SARS-CoV-2 may be an important target to discover pharmaceutical compounds for the therapy of this life-threatening dis...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Bijun Cheng, Tianjiao Li
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2020-08-01
Series:BioTechniques
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Online Access:https://www.future-science.com/doi/10.2144/btn-2020-0038
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Summary:The outbreak of viral pneumonia caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 that began in December 2019 caused high mortality. It has been suggested that the main protease (Mpro) of SARS-CoV-2 may be an important target to discover pharmaceutical compounds for the therapy of this life-threatening disease. Remdesivir, ritonavir and chloroquine have all been reported to play a role in suppressing SARS-CoV-2. Here, we applied a molecular docking method to study the binding stability of these drugs with SARS-CoV-2 Mpro. It appeared that the ligand–protein binding stability of the alliin and SARS-CoV-2 Mpro complex was better than others. The results suggested that alliin may serve as a good candidate as an inhibitor of SARS-CoV-2 Mpro. Therefore, the present research may provide some meaningful guidance for the prevention and treatment of SARS-CoV-2.
ISSN:0736-6205
1940-9818