In Silico Inhibition Potential of Artemisinin Derivatives Against SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease
Mustafa Emirik · El-Cezeri Fen ve Mühendislik Dergisi · 2021
The outbreak of COVID-19 caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus has recently become a pandemic and affected millions worldwide. The natural compounds obtained from medicinal plants have been proven to be the source of many treatments throughout history. Efforts to combat Sars-CoV-2 generally focused on repositioning drugs or finding treatments with natural compounds and have been rapidly ongoing. Main protease (Mpro) is a vital protein of SARS-CoV-2 and an important target of drug research. The present study evaluated seven artemisinin derivatives: Artemisinin, Artemether, Arteether, Artesunate, Dihydroartemisinic acid Dihydroartemisinin and Artemisinic Acid. For this purpose, the molecular docking study was carried out to investigate the potency of artemisinin derivatives against the SARS-CoV-2 Mpro. As a result, Artesunate, Dihydroartemisinic acid and dihydroartemisinin had promising results in Mpro inhibition with the binding energies between -8.42 and -9.35 kcal/mol.