Bergamottin, a bioactive component of bergamot, inhibits SARS-CoV-2 infection in golden Syrian hamsters

  • Antiviral Res. 2022 Aug;204:105365. doi: 10.1016/j.antiviral.2022.105365.
Minmin Zhou  1 ,  Yang Liu  2 ,  Junyuan Cao  1 ,  Siqi Dong  1 ,  Yuxia Hou  1 ,  Yan Yu  3 ,  Qiuyan Zhang  2 ,  Yueli Zhang  4 ,  Xiaoying Jia  1 ,  Bo Zhang  1 ,  Gengfu Xiao  1 ,  Gang Li  5 ,  Wei Wang  6
Affiliations
  • 1. State Key Laboratory of Virology, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Center for Biosafety Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430071, China; University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
  • 2. State Key Laboratory of Virology, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Center for Biosafety Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430071, China.
  • 3. Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, China; Guangdong Engineering and Technology Research Centre of Organoid, Guangzhou, 510515, China.
  • 4. State Key Laboratory of Virology, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Center for Biosafety Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430071, China; College of Pharmacy and State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300450, China.
  • 5. Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, China.
  • 6. State Key Laboratory of Virology, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Center for Biosafety Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430071, China; University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
PMID: 35732228 DOI: 10.1016/j.antiviral.2022.105365
Abstract

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused an ongoing pandemic, coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19), which has become a major global public health event. Antiviral compounds remain the predominant means of treating COVID-19. Here, we reported that bergamottin, a furanocoumarin originally found in bergamot, exhibited inhibitory activity against SARS-CoV-2 in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo. Bergamottin interfered with multiple stages of virus life cycles, specifically blocking the SARS-CoV-2 spike-mediated membrane fusion and effectively reducing viral RNA synthesis. Oral delivery of bergamottin to golden Syrian hamsters at dosages of both 50 mg/kg and 75 mg/kg reduced the SARS-CoV-2 load in nasal turbinates and lung tissues. Pathological damage caused by viral Infection was also ameliorated after bergamottin treatment. Overall, our study provides evidence of bergamottin as a promising natural compound, with broad-spectrum anti-coronavirus activity, that could be further developed in the fight against COVID-19 Infection during the current pandemic.

Keywords
Antiviral; Bergamottin; Inhibitor; Natural products; SARS-CoV-2.
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