At a time when scientists from around the world are working hard to develop a vaccine, in Morocco too, research is evolving with results that are at the very least promising.
Thus, at the Laboratory of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology (LPTC), there are three Moroccan researchers, Dr. Youness Kadil, Pr. Houda Filali and Dr. Mohammed Mouhcine, to have made some promising discoveries.
“Appeared in December 2019 in Wuhan, the new SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus spread very quickly to the whole planet, leading to the pandemic called COVID-19. From the start of this global health crisis, the Laboratory of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology of the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy of Casablanca has positioned itself as an actor in the international Covid-19 ‘community, mobilizing the entire laboratory team towards work related to both fundamental research and therapeutic innovation ”, explains one of these three researchers, contacted by Le360.
“The studies carried out by the team of the Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology laboratory have allowed the identification of the different vaccine combinations against infections due to SARS-CoV-2, and have demonstrated by molecular modeling the inhibitory potential of Thymoquinone as an active ingredient of black seed on protease, a viral particle essential for the replication of the SARS-CoV-2 virus ”, continues the researcher.
Nigella, aka the “miracle seed”, is one of the key ingredients of traditional medicine in many countries. Thanks to its many active ingredients, mainly thymoquinone, black seed has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antihistamine properties.
As part of one of the studies carried out by the three researchers, entitled “In Silico Invistigation of the SARS-CoV-2 Protease withThymoquinone, the Major Constituing of NigellaSativa”, and published by Bentham Science, they explain that “the results of numerous studies have shown that protease inhibitors can be a real leader in research”.
He also explains that “the antiviral activity and the beneficial effect against respiratory disorders of thymoquinone have been widely demonstrated”.
The aim of this study is therefore to evaluate, In Silico, the inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 replication by thymoquinone. It is thus, one specifies, “of a molecular simulation study using structures of protease and thymoquinone of SARS-CoV-2 obtained from Protein Data Bank”.
Thus, taking into account the preliminary results which “have shown that thymoquinone can have inhibitory activities against the protease of SARS-CoV-2 (…) we can conclude that it can be considered as a future treatment or adjuvant of the infection. by SARS CoV2 ”, conclude the authors of this study. The research team also specifies that “the development of vaccines and the antiviral activity of Thymoquinone are part of a project launched a year ago via molecular design and simulation by a battery of molecular modeling tests” .
The next step for these three researchers is an evaluation of this inhibitor on cell lines.
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