COVID-19 Treatment: Are Olive Oil, Green Tea, Red Wine Finally Keys to Curing the Virus?

A new study recently revealed that three natural compounds found in certain food and beverages such as olive oil, green tea, and red wine are promising candidates for the development of drugs against COVID-19.

In an extensive screening of a large library of natural substances at DESY's X-ray source PETRA III, the said compounds, bound to a central enzyme essential for the duplication of coronavirus, a EurekAlert! report specified.

All three compounds are already employed as active substances in the present drugs, as the research team headed by the University of Hamburg's Christian Betzel, and DESY's Aike Meents reports in their study published in the Communications Biology journal.

Nonetheless, if and when a COVID-19 drug can be developed on the bases of the said three compounds remain to be examined.

Papain-Like Protease

According to Vasundra Srivinasan, the study's main author from the University of Hamburg, they tested 500 substances from the Karachi Library of Natural Compounds if they are binding to the papain-like protease of the novel coronavirus, which is one of the main targets for an antiviral drug.

The main author added, that a compound that's binding to the enzyme at the right place can prevent it from working.

The PLpro or papain-like protease is an essential enzyme for virus duplication. Specifically, when a cell is hijacked by the coronavirus, it is forced to make building blocks for new virus particles.

These proteins are produced as a long string. PLpro then functions like a molecular pair of scissors, cutting the proteins from the string. If this process is blocked, the proteins cannot construct new virus particles.

Nonetheless, PLpro has another essential function for coronavirus, Srinivasan said. The main author added it's blocking a protein of the immune system known as ISG15, and that is severely weakening the self-defense of self-defense.

With hindering PLpro, continued Srinivasan, they can also enhance the immune response of the cell.

Green Tea as COVID-19 Treatment

The researchers said drinking green tea, though, is not a cure for COVID-19 infection. Similarly, it will not heal wounds or cure cancer.

If and how the virus drug can be developed from such phenols "is a subject to further studies," said the study's main author.

In a different screening, a research team comprising largely the same researchers had already screened thousands of available drugs at PETRA III as possible inhibitors of the main protease or Mpro of COVID-19, also a molecular pair of scissors and a main potential drug target. ScienceDaily specified in a related report.

This said screening was able to identify several COVID-19 drug candidates, and the most promising have entered preclinical testing.

Commenting on the identified drug candidates, Betzel said, the COVID-19 initiative from DESY and the University of Hamburg is one of the very few in the world that investigated both of the main turrets of the said virus.

Related information about breakthrough treatments against COVID-19 is shown on 7News Australia's YouTube video below:

Check out more news and information on COVID-19 in Science Times.