In vitro evaluation of the activity of terpenes and cannabidiol against Human Coronavirus E229

Chatow, L.; Nudel, A.; Nesher, I.; Hayo Hemo, D.; Rozenberg, P.; Voropaev, H.; Winkler, I.; Levy, R.; Kerem, Z.; Yaniv, Z.; Eyal, N.

doi:10.1101/2021.03.01.433501

bioRxiv · 10.1101/2021.03.01.433501

In vitro evaluation of the activity of terpenes and cannabidiol against Human Coronavirus E229

Chatow, L.·Nudel, A.·Nesher, I.·Hayo Hemo, D.·Rozenberg, P.·Voropaev, H.·Winkler, I.·Levy, R.·Kerem, Z.·Yaniv, Z.·Eyal, N.

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Abstract

The activity of a new, terpene-based formulation, code-named NT-VRL-1, against Human Coronavirus (HCoV) strain 229E was evaluated in human lung fibroblasts (MRC-5 cells), with and without the addition of cannabidiol (CBD). The tested formulation exhibited an antiviral effect when it was pre-incubated with the host cells prior to virus infection. The combination of NT-VRL-1 with CBD potentiated the antiviral effect better than the positive controls pyrazofurin and glycyrrhizin. There was a strong correlation between the quantitative results from a cell-viability assay and the cytopathic effect seen under the microscope after 72 h. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of activity of a combination of terpenes and CBD against a coronavirus.

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Chatow, L., Nudel, A., Nesher, I., Hayo Hemo, D., Rozenberg, P., Voropaev, H., Winkler, I., Levy, R., Kerem, Z., Yaniv, Z., Eyal, N.. 2021-03-02. In vitro evaluation of the activity of terpenes and cannabidiol against Human Coronavirus E229. https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.03.01.433501

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