ArticleAntiviral research2022
Astersaponin I from Aster koraiensis is a natural viral fusion blocker that inhibits the infection of SARS-CoV-2 variants and syncytium formation.
Article in Antiviral research, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
What it found
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 12 citations in OpenAlex.
- Antiviral activity of Saponin C from Liriope muscari against influenza A virus and SARS-CoV-2.Virologica Sinica · 2026Article
- Review
- The Emerging Promise of Pentacyclic Triterpenoid Derivatives as Novel Antiviral Agents Against SARS-CoV-2 Variants.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Triterpenoidal Saponins from the Leaves ofPlants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- New Sesquiterpene Glycosides from the Flowers ofPlants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Plants as Biofactories for Therapeutic Proteins and Antiviral Compounds to Combat COVID-19.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Nutrients, herbal bioactive derivatives and commensal microbiota as tools to lower the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection.Frontiers in nutrition · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The continuous emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants prolongs COVID-19 pandemic. Although SARS-CoV-2 vaccines and therapeutics are currently available, there is still a need for development of safe and effective drugs against SARS-CoV-2 and also for preparedness for the next pandemic. Here, we discover that astersaponin I (AI), a triterpenoid saponin in Aster koraiensis inhibits SARS-CoV-2 entry pathways at the plasma membrane and within the endosomal compartments mainly by increasing cholesterol content in the plasma membrane and interfering with the fusion of SARS-CoV-2 envelope with the host cell membrane. Moreover, we find that this functional property of AI as a fusion blocker enables it to inhibit the infection with SARS-CoV-2 variants including the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron with a similar efficacy, and the formation of syncytium, a multinucleated cells driven by SARS-CoV-2 spike protein-mediated cell-to-cell fusion. Finally, we claim that the triterpene backbone as well as the attached hydrophilic sugar moieties of AI are structurally important for its inhibitory activity against the membrane fusion event. Overall, this study demonstrates that AI is a natural viral fusion inhibitor and proposes that it can be a broad-spectrum antiviral agent against current COVID-19 pandemic and future outbreaks of novel viral pathogens.
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Registered trials
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