Swertiamarin and sweroside are potential inhibitors of COVID-19 based on the silico analysis

The severity of the respiratory disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 has escalated rapidly in recent years, posing a significant threat to global health. Sweroside and swertiamarin are bioactive iridoid glycosides extracted mainly from Swertia davidii Franch. It remains unclear how Swertia davidii Franch. Specifically affects COVID-19 and its underlying mechanisms. We first employed network pharmacology and molecular docking techniques to investigate how sweroside and swertiamarin affect COVID-19 in order to explore its potential mechanism. We found that 35 potential target genes can be used for the treatment of COVID-19, with androgen receptor (AR), HSP90AA1, RAC-alpha serine/threonine-protein kinase, cyclin-dependent kinase 1, epidermal growth factor receptor, and glycogen synthase kinase-3 beta emerging as particularly promising candidates. Additionally, sweroside and swertiamarin demonstrated unambiguous interactions with the 3CL protease AR through molecular docking research. At the active site, sweroside and swertiamarin can bind to AR (1T65), the main protease (5R82), and 3CL protease (6M2N), showing therapeutic potential.