NEW PLANT POLYPHENOL-BASED BROAD-SPECTRUM ANTIVIRALS

Annotation. Despite growing investment in pandemic prevention and experience with previous outbreaks, humanity was not prepared for the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in a catastrophic number of deaths and unprecedented economic damage. Its causative agent, SARS-CoV-2, is one of many pandemic threats. Predicted presence in natural reservoirs of abundant unknown viruses, which can cause pandemics, makes it impossible to timely create efficient means of combating an unknown pathogen after the onset of the outbreak it has caused. Pandemic preparedness requires threat-agnostic countermeasures prepared in advance, efficient against the future outbreak regardless of its causative agent. Broad-spectrum antivirals constitute one of such countermeasures. This report analyzes preliminary results of experiments assessing the effect of plant polyphenols with proven activity against SARS-CoV-2 and HIV to suppress influenza virus in vitro. The activities of rutan (approved as a treatment for COVID-19 in Uzbekistan), its components (galloyl glucose derivatives) and the ellagitannin geraniin have been studied. Most of the preparations exhibit relatively high activity and meet the criteria for further development.