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

Minmin Zhou, Yang Liu, Junyuan Cao, Siqi Dong, Yuxia Hou, Yan Yu, Qiuyan Zhang, Yueli Zhang, Xiaoying Jia, Bo Zhang, Gengfu Xiao, Gang Li, Wei Wang

Antiviral research 2022 Aug

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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. Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Citation

Minmin Zhou, Yang Liu, Junyuan Cao, Siqi Dong, Yuxia Hou, Yan Yu, Qiuyan Zhang, Yueli Zhang, Xiaoying Jia, Bo Zhang, Gengfu Xiao, Gang Li, Wei Wang. Bergamottin, a bioactive component of bergamot, inhibits SARS-CoV-2 infection in golden Syrian hamsters. Antiviral research. 2022 Aug;204:105365