Antiviral Potential and In Silico Insights of Polyphenols as Sustainable Phytopharmaceuticals: A Comprehensive Review

Abstract

Polyphenols, particularly flavonoids, are reported to have health‐promoting, disease‐preventing abilities, and several polyphenols have a wide spectrum of antiviral activities that can be explored for preventive and or therapeutic purposes. We have compiled the updated literature of diverse polyphenols active against common viral diseases, including Herpes, Hepatitis, influenza, rota, SARS‐corona‐viruses, etc. The antiviral activity of bioactive polyphenols depends on the hydroxyl and ester groups of polyphenol molecules, as compounds with five or more hydroxyl groups and three specific methoxy groups showed antiviral potential, like anti‐rabies activity. This comprehensive review will explore selective polyphenols isolated from common ethnomedicinal or food plants. Comparing bioactivities of structurally related polyphenols and using bioinformatics studies, we have explored the three most promising phyto‐antivirals, Chrysin, Resveratrol, and Quercetin available in many food and medicinal plants, where Quercetin showed a maximum interaction score with human genes. We also explore the intricate structure‐activity relationship between these polyphenols and virus pathogens with their mechanisms of antiviral action in selected virus models. Here, we report the promising potential of some phyto‐polyphenols in treating viral diseases through an in‐depth analysis of the structure and bioactivity of these compounds.