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Mexican Researchers Discover that Black Pepper May Have AntiViral Effects Against Covid-19 An interview with Dr. Juan Vázquez Martínez, head of a group of Mexican researchers who have discovered the anti-viral effects of black pepper in combatting Covid-19.1
Dr. Juan Vázquez Martínez, thanks to you and your team of Mexican scientists involved in the discovery, the somber outlook on the pandemic caused by the coronavirus begins to show glimmers of light. Could you explain the findings of your research to us? We found that a group of compounds known as piperamides and alkamides have great potential for interfering with some of the key enzymes involved in the virus’s infection process: both the human enzyme ACE2 and the viral enzymes Mpro and RdRp. These compounds are found in plants, particularly those of the Piperaceae and Heliantheae families, representative members of which are black pepper and chilcuague (known as Azteca gold root), respectively. The best results were found among the dimeric piperamides, where
What exactly are the properties of the piperamides and alkamides, and what are their potential effects against the SARSCoV-2 virus? In chemical terms, these compounds belong to the group of amides, or more generally to that of natural nitrogenous metabolites, which are bioactive in many systems and organisms. In previous research, we have described the bioactivity of both alkamides and piperamides in bacteria, fungi, plants, and insects. There is also some evidence of their activity in viruses. We therefore undertook to explore their potential effects against SARS-CoV-2. What is the pharmacological potential of these inhibitors? These compounds, especially pipercyclobutanamide B, have the potential to bind in a stable manner with the main protease of the virus (Mpro) and therefore to interfere with its activity. Mpro is one of the main non-structural proteins that enable the virus to complete its cycle within the cells. The function of Mpro is to cut the polyproteins, thereby producing the proteins necessary to the replication of the virus. Moreover, an abs or ption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion
INTERVIEW
The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has positioned itself as the disease of the twenty-first century. By 13 October 2020, there were almost 38 million cases of infection around the world and more than a million deaths caused by it.2
pipercyclobutanamide B forms a complex with the viral Mpro. In the simulations we ran, this pipercyclobutanamide B-Mpro complex proved highly stable, making it the main candidate to be used as an antiviral against the virus.
