A new study by North Carolina State University biologists shows that chemical compounds found in foods or beverages such as green tea, chocolates, and muscadine grapes are found to have the ability to bind and stop the function of a specific enzyme or protease in the SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 infection.
According to De-Yu Xie, the study's corresponding author and plant and microbial biology professor at the NC State, proteases are essential to the health and "viability of cells and viruses."
The corresponding author added, if proteases are withdrawn, calls cannot perform various vital functions like, for instance, replication.
Xie also explained, one of the focuses of their laboratory is to search for nutraceuticals in food or medicinal plants that constrain either the manner a virus is attaching to the human cells or the virus' propagation in human cells.
Main 'Protease'
In this new research, the NC State scientists performed both computer simulations and laboratory tests that showed the manner the so-called "main protease" or Mpro in the SARS-CoV-2 virus responded when confronted with several different plant chemical compounds already identified for their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
Mpro in the said type of coronavirus is needed for the virus to duplicate or reproduce and assemble itself, said Xie adding, "if we can inhibit or deactivate" the said protease, the virus will be destroyed and killed.
Computer simulations exhibited that the examined chemical compounds coming from green tea, two muscadine grape varieties, dark chocolate, and cacao powder were able to find various portions of Mpro.
The study correspondent explained, too, that Mpro has a portion that's akin to a "pocket" filled by the said chemical compounds. When the pocket was filled, the protease then had lost its essential task.
Compounds Found in Grapes, Green Tea, Cacao Powder, and Dark Chocolate
In vitro laboratory experiments, which NC State PhD student Yue Zhu completed in Xie's laboratory, presented the same results.
Essentially, the chemical compounds found specifically in muscadine grapes were quite successful at inhibiting the function of Mpro. Meanwhile, those that are found in dark chocolate and cacao powder decreased the activity of Mpro by roughly 50 percent.
Green tea, on the other hand, contained give examined chemical compounds binding to various sites in the pocket on Mpro, importantly overwhelming it to restrain its task, explained Xie.
Specifically, muscadine grapes have these inhibitory chemicals in both their seeds and skins. Plants are using these compounds to shield themselves. Therefore, it is not surprising leaves, and skin of plants have these beneficial compounds.
Plant Flavonoids
Another important finding presented in the study were two of the plant flavonoids, including Flavan-3-ols and proanthocyanidins or PAs.
They are typically found in fruits, food, and beverage products like grapes, strawberries, persimmon, cranberry, cacao nuts and, chocolates, and green tea, among others.
Essentially, as indicated in the research, common flavan-3-ol aglycones in these plants comprise the "epicatechin or EC, catechin or CA, epigallocatechin or ECG, gallocatechin or GC, epiafzelechin or EAF and afzelechin or AF."
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