Screening of honey bee pollen constituents against COVID-19: an emerging hot spot in targeting SARS-CoV-2-ACE-2 interaction.

ABSTRACT

The attachment of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike to angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE-2) leads the cell fusion process, so spike blockade may be a promising therapy combating COVID-19. Bee pollen bioflavonoids with intrinsic bioactivities are of outmost importance to block SARS-CoV-2-ACE-2 interaction. Herein, we conducted a molecular docking assessment through natural phenolics/non-phenolics of pollen to investigate their affinity against SARS-CoV-2 spike. Finally, kaempferol 3-neohesperidoside 7-O-rhamnoside (compound a), quercetin 7-rhamnoside (compound b), delphinidin-3-O-(6-p-coumaroyl) glucoside (compound c), and luteolin-7-O-6″-malonylglucoside (compound d) showed the lowest binding affinity of -8.1, -7.7, -7.3 and -6.7 kcal/mol. The docking procedure was validated using protein-protein interactions between ACE-2 and SARS-CoV-2 RBD via HADDOCK webserver. MD simulations were fulfilled to investigate different ligands' effects on protein movements. Collectively, compound a may possess the potency to disturb the binding of SARS-CoV-2 spike-ACE-2, which can be on the call for further in vitro and in vivo study to investigate its antiviral potential against SARS-CoV-2.