Therapeutic implications of quercetin and its derived-products in COVID-19 protection and prophylactic

Abstract

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), a novel human coronavirus, which has triggered a global pandemic of the coronavirus infectious disease 2019 (COVID-19). Outbreaks of emerging infectious diseases continue to challenge human health worldwide. The virus conquers human cells through the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 receptor-driven pathway by mostly targeting the human respiratory tract. Quercetin is a natural flavonoid widely represented in the plant kingdom. Cumulative evidence has demonstrated that quercetin and its derivatives have various pharmacological properties including anti-cancer, anti-hypertension, anti-hyperlipidemia, anti-hyperglycemia, anti-microbial, antiviral, neuroprotective, and cardio-protective effects, because it is a potential treatment for severe inflammation and acute respiratory distress syndrome. Furthermore, it is the main life-threatening condition in patients with COVID-19. This article provides a comprehensive review of the primary literature on the predictable effectiveness of quercetin and its derivatives docked to multi-target of SARS-CoV-2 and host cells via in silico and some of validation through in vitro, in vivo, and clinically to fight SARS-CoV-2 infections, contribute to the reduction of inflammation, which suggests the preventive and therapeutic latency of quercetin and its derived-products against COVID-19 pandemic, multisystem inflammatory syndromes (MIS), and long-COVID.

Keywords: COVID-19; In silico; Long-COVID; MIS; Quercetin.

Graphical abstract

Fig. 1

The graphic portrays the genome of SARS-CoV-2.

Fig. 2

The illustration depicts the structure of quercetin and its derivatives. All share the same core structure.

Fig. 3

Quercetin and its derivatives docked on various domain or segment proteins of SRAS-CoV-2. Red indicates the dominated compounds. The black T bar present suppressed compounds. (For interpretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the Web version of this article.)

Fig. 4

The mediation of quercetin and its derivatives on (a) the inflammation and cytokine storm, (b). The expressions of inflammatory and interferon-stimulated genes and (c) the oxidative stress induced by SARS-CoV-2 infection.

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