Ashwagandha could help fight Covid-19, finds research by IIT Delhi and Japan’s AIST

Team Udayavani, May 19, 2020, 4:00 PM IST

A collaborative research by IIT-Delhi and Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) has found that Ayurvedic herb Ashwagandha can be an effective therapeutic and preventive drug against the Covid-19 infection

The natural compounds from Ashwagandha and Propolis have the potential to be an effective novel coronavirus preventive drug.

The researchers discovered that Withanone (Wi-N), a natural compound derived from Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) and Caffeic Acid Phenethyl Ester, an active ingredient of New Zealand propolis, has the potential to interact with and block the activity of Mpro

D Sundar, head of the Delhi Indian Institute of Technology’s Biotechnology department, said, “The researchers targeted the main SARS-CoV-2’s enzyme for splitting proteins, known as the main protease (Mpro), that plays a key role in mediating viral replication. This is an attractive drug target for this virus, and as humans don’t naturally have this enzyme, compounds that target Mpro are likely to have low toxicity”

“While the reputation of Ashwagandha as an immunity enhancer forms a basis of the recent initiative of the Indian government in forming an interdisciplinary task force to launch its clinical research studies related to SARS-CoV-2 and the Covid-19 disease, the current research report of this team provide hints on its direct anti-viral activities,” he added