ArticlePharmacology research & perspectives2021
p-cymene impairs SARS-CoV-2 and Influenza A (H1N1) viral replication: In silico predicted interaction with SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein and H1N1 nucleoprotein.
Article in Pharmacology research & perspectives, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers.
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Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 23 citations in OpenAlex.
- Aromatic Volatile Compounds of Essential Oils: Distribution, Chemical Perspective, Biological Activity, and Clinical Applications.Food science & nutrition · 2025Review
- Harnessing Monoterpenes and Monoterpenoids as Weapons against Antimicrobial Resistance.Polish journal of microbiology · 2025Review
- Review
- A Mixture of Essential Oils from Three Cretan Aromatic Plants Inhibits SARS-CoV-2 Proliferation: A Proof-of-Concept Intervention Study in Ambulatory Patients.Diseases (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Proliferative Effect of Aqueous Extract of Sea Cucumber (Marine drugs · 2023Article
- Anti-Inflammatory and Antimicrobial Properties of Thyme Oil and Its Main Constituents.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
- Article
- Deciphering the QR Code of the CRISPR-Cas9 System: Synergy between Gln768 (Q) and Arg976 (R).ACS physical chemistry Au · 2022Article
- Neuropeptides, New Ligands of SARS-CoV-2 Nucleoprotein, a Potential Link between Replication, Inflammation and Neurotransmission.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Computational exploration of the dual role of the phytochemical fortunellin: Antiviral activities against SARS-CoV-2 and immunomodulatory abilities against the host.Computers in biology and medicine · 2022Article
- From Traditional Ethnopharmacology to Modern Natural Drug Discovery: A Methodology Discussion and Specific Examples.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- Insights into the specificity for the interaction of the promiscuous SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein N-terminal domain with deoxyribonucleic acids.International journal of biological macromolecules · 2022Article
- Discovery of a new generation of angiotensin receptor blocking drugs: Receptor mechanisms and in silico binding to enzymes relevant to SARS-CoV-2.Computational and structural biotechnology journal · 2022Article
- Natural Polyphenols Inhibit the Dimerization of the SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease: The Case of Fortunellin and Its Structural Analogs.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- p-cymene impairs SARS-CoV-2 and Influenza A (H1N1) viral replication: In silico predicted interaction with SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein and H1N1 nucleoprotein.Pharmacology research & perspectives · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
12 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Therapeutic regimens for the COVID-19 pandemics remain unmet. In this line, repurposing of existing drugs against known or predicted SARS-CoV-2 protein actions have been advanced, while natural products have also been tested. Here, we propose that p-cymene, a natural monoterpene, can act as a potential novel agent for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2-induced COVID-19 and other RNA-virus-induced diseases (influenza, rabies, Ebola). We show by extensive molecular simulations that SARS-CoV-2 C-terminal structured domain contains a nuclear localization signal (NLS), like SARS-CoV, on which p-cymene binds with low micromolar affinity, impairing nuclear translocation of this protein and inhibiting viral replication, as verified by preliminary in vitro experiments. A similar mechanism may occur in other RNA-viruses (influenza, rabies and Ebola), also verified in vitro for influenza, by interaction of p-cymene with viral nucleoproteins, and structural modification of their NLS site, weakening its interaction with importin A. This common mechanism of action renders therefore p-cymene as a possible antiviral, alone, or in combination with other agents, in a broad spectrum of RNA viruses, from SARS-CoV-2 to influenza A infections.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.