Antiviral activity of 5-aminolevulinic acid against variants of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Genetic variants of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) began to emerge in 2020 and have been spreading globally during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Despite the presence of different COVID-19 vaccines, the discovery of effective antiviral therapeutics for the treatment of patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 are still urgently needed. A natural amino acid, 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA), has exhibited both antiviral and anti-inflammatory activities. In a previous study, we demonstrated an in vitro antiviral effect of 5-ALA against SARS-CoV-2 infection without significant cytotoxicity. In the present study, we sought to investigate whether 5-ALA with or without sodium ferrous citrate (SFC) can inhibit in vitro both the original SARS-CoV-2 Wuhan strain and its variants, including the Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta strains.

METHODS:

The antiviral activity of ALA with or without SFC was determined in Vero-E6 cell. The virus inhibition was quantified by real time RT-PCR.

RESULTS:

Co-administration of 5-ALA and SFC inhibited the Wuhan, Alpha and Delta variants of SARS-CoV-2 with IC50 values of 235, 173 and 397 µM, respectively, and the Beta and Gamma variants with IC50 values of 1311 and 1516 µM.

CONCLUSION:

Our study suggests that 5-ALA with SFC warrants accelerated clinical evaluation as an antiviral drug candidate for treating patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 variants.

• Authors: Mya Myat Ngwe Tun, Takaya Sakura, Yasuteru Sakurai, Yohei Kurosaki, Daniel Ken Inaoka, Norifumi Shioda, Jiro Yasuda, Kiyoshi Kita, Kouichi Morita
• Journal: Tropical medicine and health (Trop Med Health) Vol. 50 Issue 1 Pg. 6 (Jan 07 2022) ISSN: 1348-8945 [Print] Japan
• PMID: 34991723 (Publication Type: Journal Article)
• Copyright: © 2022. The Author(s).