Computational analysis of the phytocompounds of Mimusops elengi against spike protein of SARS CoV2 - An Insilico model

Int J Biol Macromol. 2023 Aug 1:245:125553. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.125553. Epub 2023 Jun 23.

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a global health crisis for over three years now, with the virus causing widespread illness and death. The urgent need for safe and effective therapeutic drugs has prompted the exploration of alternative medicine systems such as Ayurveda and Siddha. This study focuses on the potential therapeutic properties of the Ayurvedic plant, Mimusops elengi. In silico techniques were employed to analyze the bioactivity of the plant, including target prediction, gene ontology analysis, OMIM analysis, and molecular docking analysis. The results revealed 36 phytocompounds that interacted with 1431 receptors in the human body, and two compounds - hederagenin and quercetin - showed exceptionally high binding affinities toward their corresponding receptors, IL6 and MMP9. These results provide important insight into the potential therapeutic activity of M. elengi and its compounds in combating COVID-19. However, further research and clinical trials are necessary to validate these findings and develop safe and effective drugs. The study highlights the importance of combining traditional medicine with modern scientific methods to find effective treatments for global health challenges.

Keywords: Binding energy; Conventional medicine; Covid 19; M. elengi; Molecular docking; Therapeutic application.