According to a recent study, green tea and dark chocolate contain enzymes that are able to combat the deadly coronavirus. Some foods and beverages possess properties that make them especially beneficial regarding coronavirus. Items like green tea, dark chocolate and muscadine grapes possess certain chemical compounds that hold the potential to block functions of a significant enzyme in the virus. This information was found by a study conducted by plant biologists at the North Carolina State University and was published in the journal Frontiers in Plant Science. These findings were warmly welcomed given the second wave.
Green tea and Chocolate can help beat Coronavirus
The key enzyme blocked by these food items is the “main protease” (Mpro) in SARS-CoV-2, the capabilities of this enzyme are eliminated by green tea and dark chocolate. This is extremely beneficial since the virus requires main protease enzyme to replicate and spread further. If the functions of MPro is blocked or deactivated, the virus will not be able to survive any further.
The study observed diverse materials, the researchers took into account computer simulations as well as lab studies to determine how Mpro responded when confronted with several chemical compounds fount in plants. The compounds found in green tea, two different varieties of muscadine grades, cacao powder and dark chocolate were already known for their beneficial qualities. These qualities include anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, these items appear in several natural remedies.
“Proteases are important to the health and viability of cells and viruses. If proteases are inhibited, cells cannot perform many important functions – like replication, for example. One of our lab’s focuses is to find nutraceuticals in food or medicinal plants that inhibit either how a virus attaches to human cells or the propagation of a virus in human cells” said Xie, one of the researchers in the study.
Time to snack up on holiday chocolate
When these items were tested against the strength of Mpro, the chemicals were seen binding to different portions of the deadly enzyme. Once the binding process was completed, the protease lost its key functions and properties. The chemical compounds that were found in green tea and muscadine grapes proved to be extremely successful at eliminating Mpro’s function, the researchers concluded.
In green tea, it was observed there were five tested chemical compounds that were able to successfully bind to different portions in the pocket on Mpro. This helped to greatly inhibit the function of Mpro. Muscadine grapes were full of inhibitory chemicals in their skins and seeds that proved beneficial in reducing the capabilities of Mpro. Chemical compounds found in cacao powder and dark chocolate were able to decrease Mpro activity by approximately half, the researchers revealed.
As the pandemic shows no sign of saying goodbye, such findings can be extremely beneficial. Till a vaccine arrives, we should all do what is necessary to ensure safety.
