持续的 COVID-19 大流行是一个持续的挑战，尽管努力接种疫苗，但感染仍持续突破。这激发了人们对替代预防措施的兴趣，包括饮食和草药干预措施。先前的研究表明，草药不仅可以抑制癌症进展，还可以通过针对 SARS-CoV-2 来对抗病毒感染，包括 COVID-19，这表明草药具有解决病毒和癌症的多方面潜力。在这里，我们发现抗管方（KGR）是一种新型草药配方，对 SARS-CoV-2 病毒感染具有有效的抑制活性。我们证明 KGR 对多种 SARS-CoV-2 相关变体 (VOC) 表现出抑制活性。从机制上讲，我们发现 KGR 可以阻断病毒刺突与人血管紧张素转换酶 2 (ACE2) 的相互作用。此外，我们评估了 KGR 对 SARS-CoV-2 病毒进入体内的抑制作用，观察到服用 KGR 的健康人类受试者的血清样本表现出对 SARS-CoV-2 变体的抑制活性。我们的研究为 KGR 作为一种新型的基于草药的 COVID-19 预防和治疗策略的潜力提供了宝贵的见解。版权所有 © 2024。由 Elsevier B.V. 出版。

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is a persistent challenge, with continued breakthrough infections despite vaccination efforts. This has spurred interest in alternative preventive measures, including dietary and herbal interventions. Previous research has demonstrated that herbal medicines can not only inhibit cancer progression but also combat viral infections, including COVID-19 by targeting SARS-CoV-2, indicating a multifaceted potential to address both viruses and cancer. Here, we found that the Kang Guan Recipe (KGR), a novel herbal medicine formula, associates with potent inhibition activity against the SARS-CoV-2 viral infection. We demonstrate that KGR exhibits inhibitory activity against several SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs). Mechanistically, we found that KGR can block the interaction of the viral spike and human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). Furthermore, we assessed the inhibitory effect of KGR on SARS-CoV-2 viral entry in vivo, observing that serum samples from healthy human subjects having taken KGR exhibited suppressive activity against SARS-CoV-2 variants. Our investigation provides valuable insights into the potential of KGR as a novel herbal-based preventive and therapeutic strategy against COVID-19.Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.