An international study has identified three compounds that prevent COVID-19 infection in humans, all from natural sources, including a type of sea sponge found in British Columbia.
The scientists examined a catalogue of over 350 compounds from various natural sources such as plants, fungi, and sea sponges, in search of new antiviral drugs to treat variants of COVID-19.
While 26 compounds were found to reduce viral infection completely, they identified three as being the most effective: alotaketal C from a sea sponge; bafilomycin D from a marine bacteria; and holyrine A from marine bacteria, all collected from Canadian waters. After bathing human lung cells in solutions made from these compounds and then infecting the cells with SARS-CoV-2, the researchers found that all three were effective in preventing COVID-19 infection even in tiny doses.
“The advantage of these compounds is that they are targeting the cells, rather than the virus, blocking the virus from replicating and helping the cell to recover,” microbiology and immunology research associate at the University of British Columbia (UBC) Jimena Pérez-Vargas said. “Human cells evolve more slowly than viruses, so these compounds could work against future variants and other viruses such as influenza if they use the same mechanisms.”