Abstract

COVID-19, emerged at the end of 2019 have dramatically threatened the health, economy, and social mobility of people around the world and till date no medication is available for its treatment. An amazing herb, Nigella sativa, having antiviral, antihypertensive, anti- diarrhoeal, analgesics, and anti-bacterial properties, needs to be explored for its efficacy against SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19. In-silico studies were carried out to understand the role of its bioactive constituents in COVID-19 treatment and prevention. Firstly, the disease network was prepared by using ACE2 (Angiotensin-II receptor), as it is the entry site for virus. It was used to decipher the mechanism of SARS-COV-2 infection in humans. Second, the target receptors for N. sativa were predicted and protein interaction studies were conducted. Further, docking studies were also performed to analyse it for treatment purpose as well. This study concludes that pathways undertaken by N. sativa bioactive constituents were similar to the pathways followed in SARS-COV-2 pathology, like renin-angiotensin system, kidney functions, regulation of blood circulation, blood vessel diameter, etc. Also, in docking studies, the constituents of N. sativa, α-hederin, Thymohydroquinone and Thymoquinone were observed to be efficiently binding to ACE2. Also, the bioactive phytoconstituents are involved in molecular pathways like HIF1, VEGF, IL-17, AGE-RAGE, chemokine and calcium signaling pathways which can be majorly helpful in combating hypoxia and inflammation caused due to compromised immune system and oxidative stress. Therefore, N. sativa standardized extract having the above phytoconstituents could be useful in COVID-19 and hence opens a new treatment line.

摘要

2019 年底出现的 COVID-19 极大地威胁着世界各地人们的健康、经济和社会流动性，迄今为止还没有可用于治疗的药物。一种神奇的草药Nigella sativa具有抗病毒、抗高血压、抗腹泻、镇痛和抗菌特性，需要探索其对抗 COVID-19 病原体 SARS-CoV-2 的功效。进行了计算机研究以了解其生物活性成分在 COVID-19 治疗和预防中的作用。首先，使用ACE2（血管紧张素-II受体）制备疾病网络，因为它是病毒的进入位点。它被用来破译人类感染SARS-COV-2的机制。二、N. sativa的靶受体进行了预测并进行了蛋白质相互作用研究。此外，还进行了对接研究以对其进行分析以用于治疗目的。本研究得出结论，苜蓿生物活性成分所采取的途径与 SARS-COV-2 病理学中遵循的途径相似，如肾素-血管紧张素系统、肾功能、血液循环调节、血管直径等。此外，在对接研究中，苜蓿的成分，观察到α-常春藤素、百里香醌和百里醌与ACE2有效结合。此外，具有生物活性的植物成分还参与分子通路，如 HIF1、VEGF、IL-17、AGE-RAGE、趋化因子和钙信号通路，它们主要有助于对抗由免疫系统受损和氧化应激引起的缺氧和炎症。因此，具有上述植物成分的N. sativa标准化提取物可能对 COVID-19 有用，因此开辟了一条新的治疗线。