A computational predicting of possible inhibitors of the main SARS-CoV-2 protease found in Algerian herbal medicines

Abstract

COVID-19 is a zoonotic viral disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Its abrupt outbreak has caused a tremendous challenge to public health systems due to the rapid spread of the virus. In this sense, a great deal of work has been focused on finding substances from herbal plants to be used against this virus. In order to investigate the molecular interactions between natural metabolites from Algerian herbal plants and the SARS-CoV-2 protease Mpro, computational docking and molecular dynamics were used, also the drug likeness degree and in silico ADMET prediction were carried out in this study. warfarin and catalponol preferentially binds to a pocket of the SARS-Cov-2 Mpro active site that is made up of residues His 41 to Glu 166 and Leu 27 to His 163 with a relatively low binding energy of -7.1 and -6.6 kcal/mol respectively. Dynamic molecular assay further established that only warfarin managed to stay in the active site. The results suggest that warfarin may be an interesting candidate for development as a medical treatment of COVID-19 and more research is proposed, without disregarding its toxicity which deserves to be well studied.