Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Nov 29:10:1310129.
doi: 10.3389/fmed.2023.1310129. eCollection 2023.

Repurposing of Rutan showed effective treatment for COVID-19 disease

Shavkat I Salikhov  1 , Ibrokhim Y Abdurakhmonov  2 , Yuliya I Oshchepkova  1 , Jamolitdin F Ziyavitdinov  1 , Nodir Sh Berdiev  1 , Haji Akber Aisa  3 , Jingshan Shen  4 , Yechun Xu  4 , H Eric Xu  4 , Xiangrui Jiang  4 , Leike Zhang  5 , Natalia L Vypova  1 , Dilshod Sh Allaberganov  1 , Nigora A Tagayalieva  1 , Erkin I Musabaev  6 , Gulnara A Ibadova  7 , Ilxom B Rajabov  7 , Lyubov M Lokteva  6
Affiliations

Repurposing of Rutan showed effective treatment for COVID-19 disease

Shavkat I Salikhov et al. Front Med (Lausanne). .

Abstract

Previously, from the tannic sumac plant (Rhus coriaria), we developed the Rutan 25 mg oral drug tablets with antiviral activity against influenza A and B viruses, adenoviruses, paramyxoviruses, herpes virus, and cytomegalovirus. Here, our re-purposing study demonstrated that Rutan at 25, 50, and 100 mg/kg provided a very effective and safe treatment for COVID-19 infection, simultaneously inhibiting two vital enzyme systems of the SARS-CoV-2 virus: 3C-like proteinase (3CLpro) and RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp). There was no drug accumulation in experimental animals' organs and tissues. A clinical study demonstrated a statistically significant decrease in the C-reactive protein and a reduction of the viremia period. In patients receiving Rutan 25 mg (children) and 100 mg (adults), the frequency of post-COVID-19 manifestations was significantly less than in the control groups not treated with Rutan tablets. Rutan, having antiviral activity, can provide safe treatment and prevention of COVID-19 in adults and children.

Clinical trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, ID NCT05862883.

Keywords: 3CLpro; COVID-19; RdRp; Rhus coriaria; Rutan; SARS-CoV-2; clinical trial.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
SARS-CoV-2 RdRp inhibition by Rutan (1) and Myricetin (2).
Figure 2
Figure 2
RdRp inhibition by Rutan and myricetin (A) RNA duplex sequence with U 10 5′-overhang as a template for primer extension and assembly of the RdRp-RNA complex. (B) Gel assays for partial RNA duplex elongation by purified RdRp complex and its inhibition by Rutan and its main components and myricetin.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Remdesivir, Rutan and components activity against SARS-CoV-2 virus in Vero E-6 cells.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Inhibition activity of Rutan and components on SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro.
Figure 5
Figure 5
The CONSORT-based block diagram on randomized clinical trial results in adults.
Figure 6
Figure 6
The CONSORT-based block diagram on the results of a randomized clinical trial in children.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Keni R, Alexander A, Nayak PG, Mudgal J, Nandakumar K. COVID-19: emergence, spread, possible treatments, and global burden. Front Public Health. (2020) 8:216. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2020.00216 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Leslie M. A viral arsenal. Science. (2022) 378:128–31. doi: 10.1126/science.adf2350, PMID: - DOI - PubMed
    1. Ziebuhr J, Snijder EJ, Gorbalenya AE. Virus-encoded proteinases and proteolytic processing in the Nidovirales. J Gen Virol. (2000) 81:853–79. doi: 10.1099/0022-1317-81-4-853, PMID: - DOI - PubMed
    1. Zhang Y, Chen S, Jin Y, Ji W, Zhang W, Duan G. An update on innate immune responses during SARS-CoV-2 infection. Viruses. (2021) 13:2060. doi: 10.3390/v13102060 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Nelemans T, Kikkert M. Viral innate immune evasion and the pathogenesis of emerging RNA virus infections. Viruses. (2019) 11:961. doi: 10.3390/v11100961, PMID: - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Associated data