Parthenolide: suggested drug for COVID-19

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) that causes acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) which is the main reason for patients mortality. One of the effective treatments to reduce the effects of this virus is parthenolide (PN). Parthenolide is a sesquiterpene lactone found in medicinal plants. It can inhibit several pro-inflammatory signaling pathways, in particular the ATPase activity of NLRP3. Based on its ability to suppress inflammatory signal transduction and elevated level of serum IL-1β (a surrogate marker for NLRP3 activation) in COVID-19 patients, we suggest that PN could be potentiallyeffective for the treatment of COVID-19.