Recently, geraniin has been identified as a potent antiviral agent targeting SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro). Considering the potential of geraniin in COVID-19 treatment, a stringent validation for its Mpro inhibition is necessary. Herein, we rigorously evaluated the in vitro inhibitory effect of geraniin on Mpro using the fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET), fluorescence polarization (FP), and dimerization-dependent red fluorescent protein (ddRFP) assays. Our data indicate that geraniin is not a potential inhibitor against Mpro based on the results from a set of in vitro assays. These results suggest a stringent in vitro validation with diverse biochemical assays is essential for the discovery of Mpro inhibitors, and the fluorescence quenching effect caused by natural products should be considered when evaluating Mpro inhibitors.
Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; fluorescence polarization; fluorescence quenching effect; geraniin; main protease inhibitor.