Mustard seed, wall rocket and turmeric extracts are helpful against SARS-CoV-2

Researchers in Spain have discovered plant extracts that could be useful in the search for treatments for coronavirus (COVID-19) and provide a foundation for future chemical, in vivo, and clinical trials.

The researchers from the Polytechnic University of Valencia found 17 plant items often used in modern and traditional cuisine that has previously shown promise as inhibitors of chymotrypsin-like protease, a coronavirus protein (3CLPro).

This protein is necessary for the replication of the SARS coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) — the agent responsible for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Extracts of turmeric, mustard seeds, and wall rocket were found to significantly reduce SARS-CoV-2 3CLPro activity.

Turmeric rhizome extracts were found to be the most effective at inhibiting 3CLPro activity, according to a study published in the journal Foods.

A derivative of sinigrin, which is present in mustard seeds, was likewise found to be a powerful inhibitor of SARS-CoV-2 3CLPro activity in the study.

Carla Guijarro-Real and colleagues write, “Testing plant extracts can be considered a first approach in the search for natural compounds with antiviral activity, or even represent a basis for the development of prophylactic or therapeutic plant extracts against COVID-19.”

“In addition, given the proven safe for human consumption of the plants from which extracts are obtained, their potential use against COVID-19 might be immediate and easily accessible,” they added.

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