Chemical Compounds in Foods Can Inhibit a Key SARS-CoV-2 Enzyme

Chemical compounds in foods or beverages like green tea, muscadine grapes and dark chocolate can bind to and block the function of a particular enzyme, or protease, in the SARS-CoV-2 virus, according to a new study by plant biologists at North Carolina State University.

Proteases are important to the health and viability of cells and viruses, says De-Yu Xie, professor of plant and microbial biology at NC State and the corresponding author of the study. If proteases are inhibited, cells cannot perform many important functions – like replication, for example.

Source: https://news.ncsu.edu/2020/11/food-chemical-compounds-can-inhibit-a-key-sars-cov-2-enzyme/