The antiviral activities of these compounds occur through the inhibition of viral transmission to other cells, inhibition of viral propagation, and destruction of the outer envelope of the virus ( Marcucci, 1995).
According to Marcucci, propolis, a resinous bee product, exhibits antiviral activity based on the presence of flavonoids, caffeic acid, and esters of aromatic acids ( Marcucci, 1995). Thereby, other compounds should be examined to identify an effective treatment with few or no adverse effects. However, given the complexity of the virus and the rapid mutation of its single stranded RNA, it may take years to generate effective vaccines ( Huanget al., 2020). In addition, efforts are underway to develop vaccines to control the outbreak. In addition, several reports of serious arrhythmia have been described in patients with COVID-19 who received these compounds ( United States Food and Drug Administration, 2020). However, no studies were adequately powered to prove their efficacy ( Pastick et al., 2020). Several drugs, such as hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, have been suggested as treatments. The viral pathogenesis causes several symptoms, such as sore throat, running nose, cough, fever, and eventually respiratory failure.Ĭurrently, there is no specific therapy with curative efficacy against the disease ( Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2020). The SARS-CoV-2 genome encodes a trimeric structural spike protein, a homodimeric cysteine proteinase, an RNA polymerase, and several nonstructural proteins ( Calligari et al., 2020). Both SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 recognize the same receptor in the human body, namely angiotensin-converting enzyme 2. SARS-CoV-2 was identified to have 82% RNA identity with SARS-CoV ( Zhang et al., 2020). Two other viruses belong to this genus, namely Middle East respiratory syndrome virus and severe acute respiratory syndrome virus (SARS-CoV). SARS-CoV-2 is a single-stranded ribonucleic acid (RNA) enveloped virus from the genus Betacoronavirus, subfamily Orthocoronavirinae, and family Coronaviridae ( Zheng, 2020). (2S)-5,7-Dihydroxy-4′-methoxy-8-prenylflavanone Both compounds also displayed favorable interaction profiles with SARS-CoV-2 main protease with binding similarities compared to inhibitor 13b as positive control 63% and 75% respectively. The results illustrated that two compounds, namely glyasperin A and broussoflavonol F, are potential drug candidates for COVID-19 based on their binding affinity of −7.8 kcal/mol and their ability to interact with His 41 and Cys 145 as catalytic sites. In this study, molecular docking was performed to analyze the interaction profiles of propolis compounds with SARS-CoV-2 main protease. Thus, this study was aimed to examine whether Sulawesi propolis compounds produced by Tetragonula sapiens inhibit the enzymatic activity of SARS-CoV-2 main protease. One promising treatment target for COVID-19 is SARS-CoV-2 main protease. The need for an effective treatment is urgent because the development of an effective vaccine may take years given the complexity of the virus and its rapid mutation. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a respiratory disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is a global health concern, as the World Health Organization declared this outbreak to be a global pandemic in March 2020.