In Silico Studies of Essential Oils of Zingiber Officinale and Syzygium Aromaticum as Prophylaxis against COVID-19

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a rapidly spreading disease that poses a global challenge in many fields including health and disease management. In this situation, this research serves as a preliminary study by screening potential compounds from natural herbs Zingiber officinale (127) and Syzygium aromaticum (33) that may act as prophylaxis against COVID-19 by a series of in silico studies namely chemical characterization, ADMET prediction, molecular docking, and gene enrichment analysis. Collectively, 155 candidate compounds were predicted for their inhibitory effects against key protein targets (RdRp, Mpro, PLpro, Nucleocapsid, Spike, and ACE2) through molecular docking. In conjunction, gene enrichment analysis was also carried out to provide insight in relevant gene and pathway modulation related to COVID-19 and the immune system. Together, the study has revealed a number of promising compounds including cembrene, caryophyllene oxide, α-curcumene, germacrene B, and liguloxide which are predicted to possess good inhibition activity towards target proteins and the ability to modulate relevant genes namely IFNG, CD14, TNFRSF1A, GAPDH, HMOX1, and NOS2. Overall, this study proposed that the prophylactic effect may be achieved by 3 layers of preventive action, namely (1) immune system enhancement; (2) suppression of proinflammatory cytokines; and (3) hypoxia symptom management.