The comprehensive study on the therapeutic effects of baicalein for the treatment of COVID-19 in vivo and in vitro
Junke Song, Zhang Li, Yanfeng Xu, Dezhi Yang, Zhang Li, Shiying Yang, Wen Zhang, Jinhua Wang, Shuo Tian, Shengqian Yang, Tianyi Yuan, Ailin Liu, Qi Lv, Fengdi Li, Hongqi Liu, Biyu Hou, Xiaozhong Peng, Yang Lü, Guanhua Du
Abstract
Baicalein is the main active compound of Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi, a medicinal herb with multiple pharmacological activities, including the broad anti-virus effects. In this paper, the preclinical study of baicalein on the treatment of COVID-19 was performed. Results showed that baicalein inhibited cell damage induced by SARS-CoV-2 and improved the morphology of Vero E6 cells at a concentration of 0.1 μM and above. The effective concentration could be reached after oral administration of 200 mg/kg crystal form β of baicalein in rats. Furthermore, baicalein significantly inhibited the body weight loss, the replication of the virus, and relieved the lesions of lung tissue in hACE2 transgenic mice infected with SARS-CoV-2. In LPS-induced acute lung injury of mice, baicalein improved the respiratory function, inhibited inflammatory cell infiltration in the lung, and decreased the levels of IL-1β and TNF-α in serum. In conclusion, oral administration of crystal form β of baicalein could reach its effective concentration against SARS-CoV-2. Baicalein could inhibit SARS-CoV-2-induced injury both in vitro and in vivo. Therefore, baicalein might be a promising therapeutic drug for the treatment of COVID-19.