Phytochemicals As a Potential Inhibitor of COVID-19: An In-Silico Perspective

The current research has centered on the use of pharmacological and binding affinity methods to test the 36 compounds as bioactive constituents’ inhibitors for COVID-19. Six compounds out of 36 phytoconstituents (rutin, quercetin, catechin gallate, rhamnetin, campesterol and stigmasterol) have demonstrated outstanding molecular docking and drug-like properties as HIV inhibitors Lopinavir and Indinavir. Interestingly, the lowest binding energies (LBE) and the inhibition constant (K(i)) have showed that these compounds are able to bind to the P-glycoprotein substrate of 3CL(pro) and Nsp15. Interestingly, rutin has been found to be an excellent potential inhibitor for COVID-19 proteins because it has the best LBE score and K(i) value than those of other compounds, and of its ability to form strong H-bonds with COVID-19 proteins. The compounds that come next to the rutin compound are stigmasterol and campesterol. As a result, these compounds are considered possible novel inhibitors of COVID-19. In order to validate the computational results, more in vitro and in vivo investigations are required to support the findings of this research.