Curcumin from Curcuma longa L. as Dual Inhibitors Against Indonesian SARS-CoV-2 Isolates: A Molecular Docking Study

Abstract

COVID-19 has become a global pandemic since 2020. The search for promising drugs based on the abundant herbal ingredients in Indonesia is one of the breakthroughs. Curcumin is a chemical compound with various potentials such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antiviral. We conducted a molecular docking analysis to determine the potential of curcumin against SARS-CoV-2 non-structural and structural proteins, such as the main protease and spike protein. This study used the compound of curcumin (PubChem CID: 969516) from Curcuma longa L. or turmeric and two Indonesian SARS-CoV-2 isolates that have been deposited in the GISAID database (hCoV-19/Indonesia/JI-PNF-217315/2021 - EPI_ ISL_12777089 or lineage B.1.617.2 and hCoV-19/Indonesia/JI-PNF-211373/2021 - EPI_ISL_6425649 or lineage B.1.470). In addition, we used molnupiravir (PubChem CID: 145996610) as a drug control. We performed molecular docking analysis with PyRx software 0.9.9 (academic license) and visualization of molecular docking results with PyMOL software 2.5.4 (academic license). The results of this study found that curcumin had good potential against main protease and spike protein compared to the drug (control). In summary, we suggested that curcumin is a potential drug candidate against SARS-CoV-2. However, there is a need for future wet laboratory-based pre-clinical research such as in vitro and in vivo.