Computational Identification of Drug Lead Compounds for COVID-19 from Moringa Oleifera

Abstract

COVID-19 which is caused by the virus SARS-CoV-2, has now been declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization. At present, no specific vaccines or drugs are available to treat COVID-19. Therefore, there is an urgent need for the identification of novel drug lead compounds to treat COVID-19. The SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro also known as 3CLpro) and RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp also known as nsp12) are the best-characterized drug targets among corona viruses. In order to discover the natural lead compounds for SARS-CoV-2, we performed molecular docking with the compounds from Moringa Oleifera that target the Mpro and RdRp. The molecular docking studies were carried out using AutoDock Vina through PyRx. Drug-likeness property of the selected compounds was checked by applying the ‘Lipinski’s rule of five’ using Swiss ADME. The top four compounds with most favourable binding affinity were selected for each of the targets. The results indicated that the compounds kaempferol, pterygospermin, morphine and quercetin exhibited best binding energy towards Mpro and RdRp. This study suggests that these natural compounds could be promising candidates for further evaluation of COVID-19 prevention.