Prediction of SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease Inhibitors from Several Medicinal Plant Compounds by Drug Repurposing and Molecular Docking Approach.

Coronaviruses are endemic in humans and infections normally mild, such as the common cold but cross-species transmission has produced some unusually virulent strains which now causing viral pneumonia and in serious cases even acute respiratory distress syndrome and death. SARS-CoV-2 is the most threatening issue which leads the world to an uncertainty alongside thousands of regular death scenes. For this virus, death toll is increasing in. An effective vaccine to cure this virus is not yet available, thus requires concerted efforts at various scales. The viral Main Protease controls Coronavirus replication and is a proven drug discovery target for SARS-CoV-2. Here, comprehensive computational approaches including drug repurposing and molecular docking were employed to predict the efficacy of medicinal plant-based bioactive compounds against SARS-CoV-2 Mpro. Molecular docking was performed using PyRx-autodock vina to analyze the inhibition probability. MPP (6LU7) was docked with 90 phytochemical compounds and docking was analysed by PyRx-autodock vina, Pymol version 1.7.4.5 Edu, and Biovia Discovery Studio 4.5. Furthermore, ADME analysis along with analysis of toxicity was also investigated to check the pharmacokinetics and drug-likeness properties of the antiviral phytochemicals. Remdesivir and lopinavir were used as standards for comparison. Our analyses revealed that the top ten (Azadirachtin, -12.5kcal/mol; Rutin, -9 kcal/mol; Theaflavin, -9 kcal/mol; Astragalin, -8.8 kcal/mol; Isoquercitrin, -8.7 kcal/mol; Hyperoside, -8.6 kcal/mol; Baicalin, -8.4 kcal/mol; Saponin, -8.3 kcal/mol; Sennoside A, -8.3 kcal/mol; Aloin, -8.2 kcal/mol, while Remdesivir and Lopinavir showed -8.2 and -7.9 kcal/mol) hits might serve as potential anti- SARS-CoV-2 lead molecules for further optimization and drug development process to combat COVID-19.