Ashwagandha to help in fighting Corona,claims IIT research

New Delhi. Natural compounds from Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) and Propolis could be potential drug candidates against Covid-19. It is revealed in a collaborative study of DAILAB ( DBT-AIST International Laboratory for Advanced Biomedicine) at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi and National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Japan.  DAILAB is a collaborative of Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Japan. In a press statement  it is claimed that “The researchers targeted the main SARS-CoV-2’s enzyme for splitting proteins, known as the main protease or M-pro 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 M-pro are likely to have low toxicity. They discovered that Withanone (Wi-N), a natural compound derived from Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) and Caffeic Acid Phenethyl Ester (CAPE), an active ingredient of New Zealand propolis, have the potential to interact with and block the activity of M-pro.”

Indian Express quoted Prof D Sundar, Coordinator of DAILAB @ IIT Delhi and Head of the Department of Biochemical Engineering and Biotechnology at IIT Delhi.  He was quoted saying, “The traditional medicine system ‘Ayurveda’ has been practiced for thousands of years in India. Unlike modern medicine, the mechanism of action of natural drugs has not been resolved so far. IIT Delhi and AIST researchers have been working together for more than a decade and trying to contribute to strengthen this avenue by merging the traditional knowledge with modern technologies.While ashwagandha has a reputation as an immunity enhancer, the current research which is an initiative of Indian government task force, hints at its anti-viral activities.”

Other authors on this paper were Vipul Kumar, a PhD student, IIT Delhi and Jaspreet Kaur Dhanjal, a PhD alumni from IIT Delhi and currently a post-doctoral fellow at AIST.

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