Plant-derived antiviral is effective in blocking highly infectious SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant, say scientists

Date:November 19, 2021

Source:University of Nottingham

Summary:A plant-based antiviral has been found to be just as effective at treating all variants of the virus SARS-CoV-2, even the highly infectious Delta variant.

Excerpt from the Press Release:

A plant-based antiviral, recently discovered by scientists at the University of Nottingham, has been found to be just as effective at treating all variants of the virus SARS-CoV-2, even the highly infectious Delta variant.

The struggle to control the Covid-19 pandemic is made more difficult by the continual emergence of virulent SARS-CoV-2 variants, which are either more infectious, cause more severe infection, or both.

In a new study published in Virulence, a group of scientists, led by Professor Kin-Chow Chang from the School of Veterinary Medicine and Science at the University, found that the Delta variant, compared with other recent variants, showed the highest ability to multiply in cells, and was most able to directly spread to neighbouring cells. In co-infections with two different SARS-CoV-2 variants, the Delta variant also boosted the multiplication of its co-infected partners.

The study also showed that a novel natural antiviral called thapsigargin (TG), recently discovered by the same group of scientists to block other viruses, including the original SARS-CoV-2, was just as effective at treating all of the newer SARS-CoV-2 variants, including the Delta variant.

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