In vitro efficacy of Artemisia extracts against SARS-CoV-2

doi:10.1186/s12985-021-01651-8

. 2021 Sep 8;18(1):182.

doi: 10.1186/s12985-021-01651-8.

In vitro efficacy of Artemisia extracts against SARS-CoV-2

Chuanxiong Nie^{1

2}, Jakob Trimpert¹, Sooyeon Moon³, Rainer Haag², Kerry Gilmore^{3

4}, Benedikt B Kaufer⁵, Peter H Seeberger^{2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Institute for Virology, Freie Universität Berlin, Robert von Ostertag-Str. 7-13, 14163, Berlin, Germany.
² Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Freie Universität Berlin, Takustrasse 3, 14195, Berlin, Germany.
³ Department for Biomolecular Systems, Max-Planck Institute for Colloids and Interfaces, Am Mühlenberg 1, 14476, Potsdam, Germany.
⁴ Department of Chemistry, University of Connecticut, 55 N. Eagleville Rd., Storrs, CT, 06268, USA.
⁵ Institute for Virology, Freie Universität Berlin, Robert von Ostertag-Str. 7-13, 14163, Berlin, Germany. Benedikt.Kaufer@fu-berlin.de.

PMID: 34496903
PMCID: PMC8424155
DOI: 10.1186/s12985-021-01651-8

Free PMC article

In vitro efficacy of Artemisia extracts against SARS-CoV-2

Chuanxiong Nie et al. Virol J. 2021.

Free PMC article

. 2021 Sep 8;18(1):182.

doi: 10.1186/s12985-021-01651-8.

Authors

Chuanxiong Nie^{1

2}, Jakob Trimpert¹, Sooyeon Moon³, Rainer Haag², Kerry Gilmore^{3

4}, Benedikt B Kaufer⁵, Peter H Seeberger^{2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Institute for Virology, Freie Universität Berlin, Robert von Ostertag-Str. 7-13, 14163, Berlin, Germany.
² Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Freie Universität Berlin, Takustrasse 3, 14195, Berlin, Germany.
³ Department for Biomolecular Systems, Max-Planck Institute for Colloids and Interfaces, Am Mühlenberg 1, 14476, Potsdam, Germany.
⁴ Department of Chemistry, University of Connecticut, 55 N. Eagleville Rd., Storrs, CT, 06268, USA.
⁵ Institute for Virology, Freie Universität Berlin, Robert von Ostertag-Str. 7-13, 14163, Berlin, Germany. Benedikt.Kaufer@fu-berlin.de.

PMID: 34496903
PMCID: PMC8424155
DOI: 10.1186/s12985-021-01651-8

Abstract

Background: Traditional medicines based on herbal extracts have been proposed as affordable treatments for patients suffering from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Teas and drinks containing extracts of Artemisia annua and Artemisia afra have been widely used in Africa in efforts to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection and fight COVID-19.

Methods: The plant extracts and Covid-Organics drink produced in Madagascar were tested for plaque reduction using both feline coronavirus and SARS-CoV-2 in vitro. Their cytotoxicities were also investigated.

Results: Several extracts as well as Covid-Organics inhibited SARS-CoV-2 and FCoV infection at concentrations that did not affect cell viability.

Conclusions: Some plant extracts show inhibitory activity against FCoV and SARS-CoV-2. However, it remains unclear whether peak plasma concentrations in humans can reach levels needed to inhibit viral infection following consumption of teas or Covid-Organics. Clinical studies are required to evaluate the utility of these drinks for COVID-19 prevention or treatment of patients.

Keywords: Antivirals; Artemisia afra; Artemisia annua; COVID-19; Covid-organics; Feline coronavirus (FCoV); SARS-CoV-2.

Conflict of interest statement

K.G. is the director of ArtemiLife, Inc. K.G. and P.H.S. have a significant financial stake in ArtemiFlow GmbH, that is a shareholder in ArtemiLife, Inc. the company that provided one of the samples. All other authors have no competing interest.

Figures

**Fig. 1**
Chemical structures of artemisinin 1, derived by isolation from *A. annua* plants and the semi-synthetic derivative artesunate 2, that is the active pharmaceutical ingredient in WHO-recommended anti-malarial medications

**Fig. 2**
Dose-dependent inhibition of FCoV infection by addition of *Artemisia* extracts. Values are expressed as mean ± SD, n = 3. For full dataset and experimental details, see Additional file 1

**Fig. 3**
(a) Images of the SARS-CoV-2 plaques incubated with different dilutions of Covid-Organics. The dose is expressed by percentage of the raw drink. (b) Concentration-dependent inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 infection using different extracts. Here, SARS-CoV-2 was preincubate with indicated compounds for 45 min and the mixture subsequently added to VeroE6 cells for another 45 min. Then, the cells were washed with PBS to remove unboundvirions and covered with Avicel overlay medium for three days until plaque formation. Please note that the testing protocol is different from Ref. 16. Values are expressed as mean ± SD, n = 3

**Fig. 4**
Viability of VeroE6 cells being cultured in presence of the samples for 45 min. Values are expressed as mean ± SD, n = 3

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References

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1. Lu H, Stratton CW, Tang Y-W. Outbreak of pneumonia of unknown etiology in wuhan, china: The mystery and the miracle. Journal of Medical Virology. 2020;92:401–402. doi: 10.1002/jmv.25678. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
1. Krammer F. Sars-cov-2 vaccines in development. Nature. 2020;586:516–527. doi: 10.1038/s41586-020-2798-3. - DOI - PubMed

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[1] Phan LT, Nguyen TV, Luong QC, Nguyen TV, Nguyen HT, Le HQ, Nguyen TT, Cao TM, Pham QD. Importation and human-to-human transmission of a novel coronavirus in vietnam. New England Journal of Medicine. 2020;382:872–874. doi: 10.1056/NEJMc2001272. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[2] Phan LT, Nguyen TV, Luong QC, Nguyen TV, Nguyen HT, Le HQ, Nguyen TT, Cao TM, Pham QD. Importation and human-to-human transmission of a novel coronavirus in vietnam. New England Journal of Medicine. 2020;382:872–874. doi: 10.1056/NEJMc2001272. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[3] Huang C, Wang Y, Li X, Ren L, Zhao J, Hu Y, Zhang L, Fan G, Xu J, Gu X, et al. Clinical features of patients infected with 2019 novel coronavirus in wuhan, china. The Lancet. 2020;395:497–506. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30183-5. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[4] Huang C, Wang Y, Li X, Ren L, Zhao J, Hu Y, Zhang L, Fan G, Xu J, Gu X, et al. Clinical features of patients infected with 2019 novel coronavirus in wuhan, china. The Lancet. 2020;395:497–506. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30183-5. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[5] Paules CI, Marston HD, Fauci AS. Coronavirus infections—more than just the common cold. JAMA. 2020;323:707–708. doi: 10.1001/jama.2020.0757. - DOI - PubMed

[6] Paules CI, Marston HD, Fauci AS. Coronavirus infections—more than just the common cold. JAMA. 2020;323:707–708. doi: 10.1001/jama.2020.0757. - DOI - PubMed

[7] Lu H, Stratton CW, Tang Y-W. Outbreak of pneumonia of unknown etiology in wuhan, china: The mystery and the miracle. Journal of Medical Virology. 2020;92:401–402. doi: 10.1002/jmv.25678. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[8] Lu H, Stratton CW, Tang Y-W. Outbreak of pneumonia of unknown etiology in wuhan, china: The mystery and the miracle. Journal of Medical Virology. 2020;92:401–402. doi: 10.1002/jmv.25678. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[9] Krammer F. Sars-cov-2 vaccines in development. Nature. 2020;586:516–527. doi: 10.1038/s41586-020-2798-3. - DOI - PubMed

[10] Krammer F. Sars-cov-2 vaccines in development. Nature. 2020;586:516–527. doi: 10.1038/s41586-020-2798-3. - DOI - PubMed

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In vitro efficacy of Artemisia extracts against SARS-CoV-2

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In vitro efficacy of Artemisia extracts against SARS-CoV-2

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Conflict of interest statement

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