Screening of Botanical Drugs against SARS-CoV-2 Entry Reveals Novel Therapeutic Agents to Treat COVID-19

An escalating pandemic caused by the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has severely impacted global health. There is a severe lack of specific treatment options for diseases caused by SARS-CoV-2. In this study, we used a pseudotype virus (pv) containing the SARS-CoV-2 S glycoprotein to screen a botanical drug library containing 1037 botanical drugs to identify agents that prevent SARS-CoV-2 entry into the cell. Our study identified four hits, including angeloylgomisin O, schisandrin B, procyanidin, and oleanonic acid, as effective SARS-CoV-2 S pv entry inhibitors in the micromolar range. A mechanistic study revealed that these four agents inhibited SARS-CoV-2 S pv entry by blocking spike (S) protein-mediated membrane fusion. Furthermore, angeloylgomisin O and schisandrin B inhibited authentic SARS-CoV-2 with a high selective index (SI; 50% cytotoxic concentration/50% inhibition concentration). Our drug combination studies performed in cellular antiviral assays revealed that angeloylgomisin O has synergistic effects in combination with remdesivir, a drug widely used to treat SARS-CoV-2-mediated infections. We also showed that two hits could inhibit the newly emerged alpha (B.1.1.7) and beta (B.1.351) variants. Our findings collectively indicate that angeloylgomisin O and schisandrin B could inhibit SARS-CoV-2 efficiently, thereby making them potential therapeutic agents to treat the coronavirus disease of 2019.