1Department of Biotechnology, School of Engineering and Technology, Manav Rachna International Institute of Research and Studies, Faridabad-121004, Haryana, India
2Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Centre for Biomedical Research, University of Delhi, Delhi-110007, India
*Corresponding author e-mail: rashmi.set@mriu.edu.in
COVID is a severe and contagious infection caused by SARS-CoV2, leading to respiratory ailments. It has many variants, one of which, omicron, was targeted in this study. Till February 2023, 0.68 million cases and fatalities have occurred worldwide due to SARS-CoV2. Several COVID medications, including remdesivir and dexamethasone, have been approved for use worldwide. However, remdesivir has side effects, such as seizures, skin rash, trouble breathing, liver damage, and high blood sugar. This study found a less harmful and potential alternative, Cordifolioside A phytochemical obtained from Tinospora cordifolia (Giloy). In comparison with the FDA-approved COVID drug remdesivir, which has a docking score of - 7.96 and an MM-GBSA value of -76.03 kcal/mol, cordifolioside A has a higher docking score of -9.97 and an MM-GBSA value of -82.79 kcal/mol. Additionally, it shows the potential to interact with both open and closed spike proteins of Omicron. This provides evidence that Cordifolioside A can be used to target the COVID infection caused by the omicron variant.
SARS-CoV-2, omicron, herbal, giloy, phytoconstituents, molecular docking, ADMET, MM-GBSA, virtual screening, repurposing
