Ethnomedicinal and Antiviral Study of Plants Used by the Moroccan Population During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Despite the development of chemical drugs, traditional medicine is widely used because of the confidence in the use of plant extracts and the lack of resources. The survey was conducted by online questionnaire, via Google Forms and accessible on the Internet between 28/06/2020 and 14/08/2020. The questionnaire has two parts; one on the plants used as remedies or to prevent COVID-19 and the other part on the socio-demographic determinants associated with the use of these species. The AutoDock Vina bioinformatics tool was used to assess in silico the inhibitory potential of the phytochemicals obtained from these species against the main protease (Mpro) of SARS-CoV-2. A total of 1070 informants participated in this investigation. The most represented botanical family was the Lamiaceae family, and the three most cited species were lemon, garlic, and clove (with citation numbers 183, 171, and 150; respectively). The in-silico study showed that glycyrrhizin (the active ingredient of licorice) was revealed as the most potential inhibitor against SARS-CoV-2 Mpro. The medicinal plants may contain promising antiviral substances, thanks to their richness in phytochemicals. These compounds are diversified and known for their biological activities which could increase the immune response and fight oxidative stress.