1. Academic Validation
  2. Bergamottin, a bioactive component of bergamot, inhibits SARS-CoV-2 infection in golden Syrian hamsters

Bergamottin, a bioactive component of bergamot, inhibits SARS-CoV-2 infection in golden Syrian hamsters

  • Antiviral Res. 2022 Aug;204:105365. doi: 10.1016/j.antiviral.2022.105365.
Minmin Zhou 1 Yang Liu 2 Junyuan Cao 1 Siqi Dong 1 Yuxia Hou 1 Yan Yu 3 Qiuyan Zhang 2 Yueli Zhang 4 Xiaoying Jia 1 Bo Zhang 1 Gengfu Xiao 1 Gang Li 5 Wei Wang 6
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 State Key Laboratory of Virology, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Center for Biosafety Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430071, China; University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
  • 2 State Key Laboratory of Virology, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Center for Biosafety Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430071, China.
  • 3 Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, China; Guangdong Engineering and Technology Research Centre of Organoid, Guangzhou, 510515, China.
  • 4 State Key Laboratory of Virology, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Center for Biosafety Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430071, China; College of Pharmacy and State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300450, China.
  • 5 Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, China.
  • 6 State Key Laboratory of Virology, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Center for Biosafety Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430071, China; University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China. Electronic address: wangwei@wh.iov.cn.
Abstract

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused an ongoing pandemic, coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19), which has become a major global public health event. Antiviral compounds remain the predominant means of treating COVID-19. Here, we reported that bergamottin, a furanocoumarin originally found in bergamot, exhibited inhibitory activity against SARS-CoV-2 in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo. Bergamottin interfered with multiple stages of virus life cycles, specifically blocking the SARS-CoV-2 spike-mediated membrane fusion and effectively reducing viral RNA synthesis. Oral delivery of bergamottin to golden Syrian hamsters at dosages of both 50 mg/kg and 75 mg/kg reduced the SARS-CoV-2 load in nasal turbinates and lung tissues. Pathological damage caused by viral Infection was also ameliorated after bergamottin treatment. Overall, our study provides evidence of bergamottin as a promising natural compound, with broad-spectrum anti-coronavirus activity, that could be further developed in the fight against COVID-19 Infection during the current pandemic.

Keywords

Antiviral; Bergamottin; Inhibitor; Natural products; SARS-CoV-2.

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