Insights into the inhibitory potential of selective phytochemicals against Mpro of 2019-nCoV: a computer-aided study

At the end of December 2019, a novel strain of coronavirus, given the name of 2019-nCoV, emerged for exhibiting symptoms of severe acute respiratory syndrome. The virus is spreading rapidly in China and around the globe, affecting thousands of people leading to a pandemic. To control the mortality rate associated with the 2019-nCoV, prompt steps are needed. Until now there is no effective treatment or drug present to control its life-threatening effects in the humans. The scientist is struggling to find new inhibitors of this deadly virus. In this study, to identify the effective inhibitor candidates against the main protease (Mpro) of 2019-nCoV, computational approaches were adopted. Phytochemicals having immense medicinal properties as ligands were docked against the Mpro of 2019-nCoV to study their binding properties. ADMET and DFT analyses were also further carried out to analyze the potential of these phytochemicals as an effective inhibitor against Mpro of 2019-nCoV.