In research conducted at Karadeniz Technical University in 2021, researchers evaluated the potential effects of some flavonoid components present in propolis on SARS-CoV-2's – the virus that causes COVID-19 – infectivity. The study states that this natural bee product has a high potential for COVID-19 treatment, but this needs to be supported by experimental studies.
The research by Guler et al. (2021) explains that the virus binds to human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE-2) to enter the host cells.
They measured the binding constants of some flavonoids, one of the active ingredients of Anatolian propolis, to the ACE-2 enzyme using the AutoDock 4.2 molecular docking program to see if they could detect components with greater inhibitor qualities.
The results of the study showed that rutin, quercetin, myricetin, and hesperetin compounds effectively inhibit the ACE-2 enzyme.
They concluded that rutin may compete with COVID-19 for ACE-2 and may prevent or delay the entry of SARS-CoV-2 into the cell.
