Title:Phytochemical Profiling of Borassus flabellifer Haustorium and its
Potential Role in Combating COVID-19-Associated Encephalopathy: A
Computational Perspective
Volume: 4
Issue: 4
Author(s): Noorul Samsoon Maharifa Haja Mohaideen and Hemalatha Srinivasan*
Affiliation:
- School of Life Sciences, B. S. Abdur Rahman Crescent Institute of Science & Technology, Chennai, India
Keywords:
Borassus flabellifer, SARS-CoV-2, neurodegenerative disease, brain encephalopathy, COVID-19, ethanolic extract.
Abstract:
Background: In response to the global outbreak of SARS-CoV-2, researchers have been
conducting extensive investigations into potential drug candidates for combating coronavirus infections.
One such focus has been on the ethanolic extract of Borassus flabellifer haustorium. While
various components of Borassus flabellifer have been explored for their pharmaceutical applications,
the potential of the haustorium remains relatively unexplored in this context.
Objective: This study aimed to assess the phytocompounds from Borassus flabellifer haustorium
using GC MS analysis, evaluate their drug-likeness properties, and perform molecular docking
against crucial proteins involved in SARS-CoV-2 infection, namely the Main protease (6LU7), Spike
trimer (7AD1), and ACE2 receptor (1R42). The goal was to identify promising compounds with
good binding affinity as potential candidates for preventing coronavirus infection.
Methods: The ethanolic extract of Borassus flabellifer haustorium underwent GC-MS analysis to
identify phytocompounds. Drug-likeness properties of screened compounds were assessed using the
Swiss ADME, followed by molecular docking against COVID-19 protein targets using PyRx.
Results: The phytocompounds from Borassus flabellifer haustorium namely Phenanthro[1,2-b]furan-
10,11-dione, 6,7,8,9-tetrahydro-1,6,6-trimethyl-, Ethanone, 1-phenyl-2-(4,5-diphenyl-2-
imidazolylthio)-, and Thiazolo[3.2-a]benzimidazol-3(2H)-one, 2-(4-acetoxybenzylideno)-, exhibit
binding affinities of -7.3, -8.8, and -7.3 for the Main protease, -8, -8.5, and -9.2 for the Spike protein,
and -8, -8.1, and -7.9 for the ACE2 receptor, respectively exhibited favourable interactions with
COVID-19 protein targets. This suggests their potential as promising drug candidates for preventing
coronavirus infection. Despite limited previous exploration, the haustorium emerges as a rich source
of such candidates.
Conclusion: The study underscores the significance of investigating the haustorium of Borassus
flabellifer identified in this study holds promise as a potential breakthrough treatment for COVID-
19-associated disease and the need for further investigations and experimental studies is warranted to
validate these findings.
