Molecular Docking Study of Phytochemicals against Infectious Diseases

The secondary metabolites produced by the plant are used for growth, development and protection of plants against animals. The metabolites produced by plants are used to treat many diseases. In this research performed the docking study of secondary metabolites of plant products against infectious diseases like Covid-19, HIV and Tuberculosis. All the plant constituents inhibiting the selected target. The following plant constituents inhibiting the target by binding with the target at low energy. The binding energy of Nimbin found to be - 169.44 Varicella zoster virus protease, the binding energy of curcumin found to be -135.3 Covid-19 main protease and the binding energy of Thalassiolin A found to be -131.17 against Reverse transcriptase. The present work focused on the bioactive phytochemicals against infectious diseases with their molecular docking study.

Pesticide Importation in Sierra Leone, 2010-2021: Implications for Food Production and Antimicrobial Resistance.

There are no previous studies reporting the type and quantity of pesticides for farming from Sierra Leone and the impact of Ebola or COVID-19 on importation. This study reviewed imported farming pesticides by the Sierra Leone, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF), between 2010-2021. It was a descriptive study using routinely collected importation data. We found the MAF imported pesticides for farming only during 2010, 2014 and 2021, in response to growing food insecurity and associated with Ebola and COVID-19 outbreaks. Results showed insecticide importation increased from 6230 L in 2010 to 51,150 L in 2021, and importation of antimicrobial pesticides (including fungicides) increased from 150 kg in 2010 to 23,560 kg in 2021. The hazard class risk classification of imported pesticides decreased over time. Increasing amounts of imported fungicides could increase the risk of future fungal resistance among humans. We found that in responding to escalating food insecurity, the government dramatically increased the amount of pesticide importation to improve crop production. Further support is necessary to decrease the risk of worsening food shortages and the possible threat of emerging antimicrobial resistance. We recommend continued monitoring and surveillance, with further studies on the most appropriate response to these multiple challenges.

Control of antibiotic resistance and superinfections as a strategy to manage COVID-19 deaths

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), viral infections continue to emerge and pose severe problems to public health. In mid-December 2019, coronavirus (coronavirus disease 2019 [COVID-19]) infection begun scattering from China. Globally, there are growing worries about community infections, in light of pandemic characterization for the outbreak by the WHO. Some studies have found that 1 out of 7 COVID-19 patients have acquired secondary bacterial infection, and half of the patients who have died had such infections. The challenge of antibiotic resistance could become an enormous force contributing to the rise in illness and death associated with COVID-19, as lower respiratory tract infections are among the leading causes of mortality in critically ill ventilated-patients with COVID-19. The increasing prevalence of resistance to penicillin and other drugs among pneumococci has considerably complicated the treatment of acquired pneumonia. Resistance to other classes of antibiotics, traditionally used as alternatives in the treatment of pneumococcal infections, has also increased markedly in the recent years. Although the search for new antibiotics remains a top priority, the pipeline for new antibiotics is not encouraging, making it essential to search for other alternative solutions. Researching promising antimicrobial agents that are effective against COVID-19 as well as Streptococcus pneumoniae, which is a major cause of pneumonia, should be encouraged to reduce mortality related to COVID-19 infections. In this chapter, the relation between secondary infections and antibiotic resistance as contributors to high death rate among COVID-19 patients will be traced and highlighted. The possibility of using antimicrobial agents of plant origin, either independently or in combination with nanostructures, as preventive and/or treatment strategies for infections associated with COVID-19 will be reviewed. © 2022 Elsevier Inc.

Discovering Potential RNA Dependent RNA Polymerase Inhibitors as Prospective Drugs Against COVID-19: An in silico Approach.

COVID-19, caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus 2, is declared a Global Pandemic by WHO in early 2020. In the present situation, though more than 180 vaccine candidates with some already approved for emergency use, are currently in development against SARS-CoV-2, their safety and efficacy data is still in a very preliminary stage to recognize them as a new treatment, which demands an utmost emergency for the development of an alternative anti-COVID-19 drug sine qua non for a COVID-19 free world. Since RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) is an essential protein involved in replicating the virus, it can be held as a potential drug target. We were keen to explore the plant-based product against RdRp and analyze its inhibitory potential to treat COVID-19. A unique collection of 248 plant compounds were selected based on their antiviral activity published in previous literature and were subjected to molecular docking analysis against the catalytic sub-unit of RdRp. The docking study was followed by a pharmacokinetics analysis and molecular dynamics simulation study of the selected best-docked compounds. Tellimagrandin I, SaikosaponinB2, Hesperidin and (-)-Epigallocatechin Gallate were the most prominent ones that showed strong binding affinity toward RdRp. All the compounds mentioned showed satisfactory pharmacokinetics properties and remained stabilized at their respective binding sites during the Molecular dynamics simulation. Additionally, we calculated the free-binding energy/the binding properties of RdRp-ligand complexes with the connection of MM/GBSA. Interestingly, we observe that SaikosaponinB2 gives the best binding affinity (∆Gbinding = -42.43 kcal/mol) in the MM/GBSA assay. Whereas, least activity is observed for Hesperidin (∆Gbinding = -22.72 kcal/mol). Overall our study unveiled the feasibility of the SaikosaponinB2 to serve as potential molecules for developing an effective therapy against COVID-19 by inhibiting one of its most crucial replication proteins, RdRp.