Efficacy of Natural Compounds from Tinospora cordifolia against SARS-CoV-2 Protease, Surface Glycoprotein and RNA Polymerase

Abstract

Background: Antiviral activity of natural compounds from Tinospora cordifolia (Amritaballi) were evaluated for their efficacy against SARS-CoV-2 targets involved in virus attachment and replication. Materials and Methods: The binding efficacy (binding affinity, Ki and IC₅₀ values) of natural compounds from Tinospora cordifolia were tested using in silco tools against four key SARS-CoV-2 targets i.e., 1) surface glycoprotein (6VSB) and 2) Receptor binding domain (6M0J) both responsible for attachment of the virus to host cell, 3)RNA dependent RNA polymerase (6M71) and 4) main protease (6Y84) responsible for replication of the virus in the host cell. Results: Berberine, Isocolumbin, Magnoflorine and Tinocordiside showed high binding efficacy against all the four key SARS-CoV-2 targets. Tinocordiside and Isocolumbin showed IC₅₀ value of < 1μM against both 6Y84 and 6VSB. Conclusion: At least four natural compounds from Tinospora cordifolia showed high binding efficacy against SARS-CoV-2 targets involved in attachment and replication of the virus. Hence validating the merit of using Tinospora cordifolia in the clinical management of infection caused by SARS-CoV-2.