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Chemical Compounds in Foods can Inhibit a key SARS-CoV-2 Enzyme, study finds

Photo of muscadine grapes on the vine.
Chemical compounds in muscadine grapes effectively inhibit an important SARS-CoV-2 protease. Photo courtesy of De-Yu Xie, NC State University.

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.

“One of our lab’s focuses is to find nutraceuticals in food or medicinal plants tha...

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