Molecular Docking and Dynamics Simulation Studies of Ginsenosides with SARS-CoV-2 Host and Viral Entry Protein Targets

Despite the contemporary advancements in the field of science and medicine, combating the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is extremely challenging in many aspects as the virus keeps spreading and mutating rapidly. As there is no effective and conclusive drug therapy to date, it is crucial to explore plant-based natural compounds for their potential to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2). Recent research highly focuses on screening various phytochemicals to elucidate their anti-viral efficacy. However, very few studies were published investigating the anti-viral efficacy of ginsenosides. Hence, the main aim of this study was to investigate the inhibitory potential of the available 122 ginsenosides from Panax ginseng against SARS-CoV-2-related proteins using a molecular docking and molecular dynamics approach. The major bioactive compounds "ginsenosides" of P. ginseng were docked to six vital SAR-CoV-2 host entry-related proteins such as ACE2, Spike RBD, ACE2 and Spike RBD complex, Spike (pre-fused), Spike (post-fused), and HR domain, with lowest binding energies of -9.5 kcal/mol, -8.1 kcal/mol, -10.4 kcal/mol, -10.4 kcal/mol, -9.3 kcal/mol, and -8.2 kcal/mol, respectively. Almost all the ginsenosides have shown low binding energies and were found to be favourable for efficient docking and resultant inhibition of the viral proteins. However, ACE2 has shown the highest interaction capability. Hence, the top five ginsenosides with the highest binding energy with ACE2 were subjected to MD, post MD analysis, and MM/PBSA calculations. MD simulation results have shown higher stability, flexibility, and mobility of the selected compounds. Additionally, MM-PBSA also affirms the docking results. The results obtained from this study have provided highly potential candidates for developing natural inhibitors against COVID-19.