Medicinal Plants with Potential Inhibitory Bioactive Compounds against Coronaviruses

Abstract

Medicinal plant is a major source of drug discovery for disease management. Over 85% of the population in Asia and in the Middle East use herbal medicine for disease management such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) caused by coronavirus. Infection from coronavirus is initiated by entry of the virus into a susceptible host cell. The two human coronaviruses of public health importance two decades ago were SARS-CoV and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) and now SARS-CoV-2. These three viruses belong to the same class of beta coronavirus and are somewhat similar in genome sequencing, life cycle, mode of entry into a host, mode of transmission and clinical manifestations. This review identified twenty medicinal plants with potential inhibitory bioactive compounds from natural sources that are active against coronaviruses that could be developed into various drug delivery systems. It also highlighted several evidences to show that medicinal plant used in the treatment of SARS-CoV may offer some sort of relief from the burden of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Since there is no specific treatment for COVID-19 yet, the search for medicinal plants with inhibitory bioactive compounds against coronavirus could be the long awaited breakthrough scientists have been searching to change the narratives of COVID-19 pandemic.