Investigating the Inhibition Effect of Portulaca oleracea against SARS-CoV-2 through Molecular Docking Simulation

Abstract

Recently a new virus strain designated as SARS coronavirus result in a fatal pandemic known as COVID-19. Bioinformatics and drug screening are directed for the assessment of potential inhibitors before their clinical implementation for the treatment of this fatal pneumonia. One of the expected natural potent inhibitors is Portulaca oleracea which has been assigned as an effective drug to different human ailments throughout the whole world. P. oleracea is widely spread in most areas of Egypt. In the current study, hydrophilic polysaccharides were purified from Portulaca oleracea extracts. Molecular docking simulation is implemented to investigate the antiviral effect of the purified polysaccharides to inhibit COVID-19. The viral protease was downloaded from a Protein Data Bank (PDB# 6y84) then docked with the potent inhibitors. The docking results indicate that the purified polysaccharides can bind tightly to the SARS-CoV-2 viral protease, which indicates that P. oleracea is a potential inhibitor for COVID-19.