An essential enzyme for viral replication is the papain-like protease (PLpro) A cell that has been taken over by a coronavirus is compelled to produce the components for fresh virus particles Three naturally occurring substances found in foods like red wine, olive oil, and green tea are promising candidates for the creation of coronavirus-fighting medications.
DESY's PETRA III X-ray source conducted a thorough screening of a large library of natural substances to identify those that bound to a key enzyme required for coronavirus replication.
As reported by the team led by Christian Betzel from the University of Hamburg and Alke Meents from DESY in the journal Communications Biology, all three compounds are already used as active ingredients in existing medications.
However, it needs to be explored whether and when a corona drug can be created using these compounds. According to the study's lead author Vasundhara Srinivasan of the University of Hamburg, "we tested 500 compounds from the Karachi Library of Natural Compounds if they bind to the papain-like protease of the novel coronavirus, which is one of the main targets for an antiviral drug." "A substance can prevent an enzyme from functioning if it binds to the enzyme in the proper location." An essential enzyme for viral replication is the papain-like protease (PLpro) A cell that has been taken over by a coronavirus is compelled to produce the components for fresh virus particles.