Harnessing Seabuckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides) Surfactants for Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV)

A Computational Approach

Abstract

Human metapneumovirus (HMPV) is a highly mutating respiratory virus that ruses the immune system with frequent mutations, creating a major health challenge. Lacking approved vaccines or treatments, there is a pressing need for effective antiviral therapies. Seabuckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides) has many antioxidants, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial activity, and might be the key to bridging this gap. In this research, we employed sophisticated computational molecular docking methods to investigate how some of the bioactive compounds of Seabuckthorn-palmitic acid, oleic acid, and palmitoleic acid-bound to the viral proteins of HMPV. We found that these compounds dock strongly to major viral protein targets, helping to indicate that these compounds might inhibit the functioning of the virus. These observations open the exciting possibility of therapeutic development of Seabuckthorn-derived compounds as safe and natural antiviral agents with the potential to overcome viral mutations, thus providing a new therapeutic avenue against HMPV infections.