Phytochemicals In Himalayan Buransh Plant May Be Used To Treat COVID-19: Indian Researchers

According to the researchers, the petals of the Himalayan Buransh plant are rich in quinic acid and its derivatives that can inhibit COVID infection.

Indian researchers have identified phytochemicals in the petals of a Himalayan plant that they said could potentially be used to treat COVID-19 infections. Scientifically called Rhododendron arboretum and locally known as "Buransh," the plant is consumed in various forms by the local population in the Himalayan region for its varied health benefits.

The research team include scientists from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mandi and The International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), New Delhi. The findings of their study were published in the journal Biomolecular Structure and Dynamics.

Buransh petals have potent anti-viral properties

According to the researchers, the petals of the Himalayan Buransh plant have potent anti-viral properties and may help fight SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

Dr Shyam Kumar Masakapalli, Associate Professor, BioX Centre, School of Basic Science, IIT Mandi, said that phytochemicals chemicals derived from plants are considered particularly promising because of their synergistic activity and natural source with fewer toxicity issues. Therefore, they have been hunting for promising molecules from the Himalayan flora using multi-disciplinary approaches.

The researchers extracted the phytochemicals from the Buransh petals and performed biochemical assays and computational simulation studies to understand their antiviral properties, IIT Mandi said in a statement.

Dr Ranjan Nanda, Translational Health Group, ICGEB, New Delhi, said that they have found the phytochemicals of Rhododendron arboreum petals sourced from Himalayan flora to be a promising candidate against COVID-19.

How phytochemicals fight COVID virus

According to the researchers, hot water extracts from Rhododendron arboreum petals are rich in quinic acid and its derivatives. Further, molecular dynamics studies showed that these phytochemicals have two kinds of effects against the COVID virus. They bound to the SARS-CoV-2 main protease enzyme that plays an important role in viral replication as well as to the Human Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme-2 (ACE2) that mediates viral entry into the host cells.

Through experimental assays, the researchers also found that non-toxic doses of the petal extracts can inhibit COVID infection in Vero E6 cells (cells derived from kidney of an African green monkey that are commonly used to study infectivity of virus and bacteria), without any adverse effects on the cells themselves.

Speaking in this regard, Dr Sujatha Sunil, Vector Borne Disease Group, ICGEB, New Delhi, said, "A combination of the phytochemical profiling, computer simulations and in-vitro antiviral assays showed that the extracts from the Buransh petals inhibited the replication of the COVID-19 virus in a dose-dependent manner."

The researchers emphasized the urgent need for further studies to find out specific bioactive drug candidates from Rhododendron arboreum, in vivo and clinical trials against COVID-19.

The IIT Mandi and ICGEB research team is also planning to carry out additional studies to understand the precise mechanism of inhibition of COVID-19 replication by specific phytochemicals from Buransh petals, the statement added.