ABSTRACT
Coronaviruses (CoVs) represent a family of viruses that have numerous animal hosts, and they cause severe respiratory, as well as systemic and enteric infections, in humans. Currently, there are limited antiviral strategies for treating patients infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The lack of specific antiviral medicines and SARS-CoV-2 vaccines continues to aggravate the situation. Natural product-based antiviral drugs have been used in the two previous CoV outbreaks: Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) and the first SARS-CoV. This review emphasizes the role of natural and semisynthetic candidate molecules for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) prophylaxis and treatment. The experimental evidence suggests that nature could offer huge possibilities for treatment of the COVID-19 pandemic.