Know more

These plants, called halophytes, are adapted to saline environments and are rich in metabolites which allow them to grow in these extreme conditions. Among the plants tested, some of which are invasive, sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.) stood out for its activity against coronaviruses in vitro. The two teams succeeded in purifying and identifying the compounds in sea buckthorn extract responsible for the antiviral activity, which are triterpenes substituted by cinnamic acids. These natural compounds are active not only against the SARS-CoV-2 virus responsible for COVID-19, but also against another coronavirus responsible for the mild cold. Further experiments will be needed to determine whether these natural substances can serve as a starting point for new treatments against the coronavirus.

Published article : Malak Al Ibrahim, Zachee Louis Evariste Akissi†, Lowiese Desmarets†, Gabriel Lefèvre, Jennifer Samaillie, Imelda Raczkiewicz, Sevser Sahpaz, Jean Dubuisson, Sandrine Belouzard, Céline Rivière‡, and Karin Séron‡, 2023. Discovery of Anti-Coronavirus Cinnamoyl Triterpenoids Isolated from Hippophae rhamnoides during a Screening of Halophytes from the North Sea and Channel Coasts in Northern France. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 24(23), 16617 (†,‡ : contribution équivalente) https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms242316617

phD of Malak Al Ibrahim 2020-2023 (Funding Program EArly-stage Researchers in Lille (PEARL), supervision : Dr K. Séron et Pr. C. Rivière), defense on 25/01/2024