Marine Researchers at NUI Galway (NUIG) say an Atlantic coral that they discovered on Ireland’s Continental Shelf has a chemical compound which can act against the Covid-19 virus.
The cauliflower coral was found on the seabed about half a mile below the surface on the edge of Ireland’s Continental Shelf.
The coral contains a previously unknown chemical compound, and research into its make-up is being conducted in partnership with North America’s South Florida University.
The compound was isolated, and named "tuaimenal" – a blend of "tuaim" from the old Irish word for sounds of the sea, and “enal”, a chemistry term for a compound with an alkene aldehyde functional group.
The research showed that Tuaimenal A can block the major enzyme of the Covid-19 virus, known as Main Protease, which is responsible for the manufacture of virus particles inside the infected cell, according to NUIG.
Dr Carolina De Marco Verissimo of NUIG’s Molecular Parasitology Laboratory conducted a study of the coral-derived Tuaimenal and how it interacts with the Covid-19 enzyme
NUIG professor of zoology Louise Allcock said that while the scientists did not set out to find this specific species, they were “hunting for corals, especially soft corals, because of their potential in bio-discovery”.
Prof Allcock, who is director of NUIG’s Ryan Institute Centre for Ocean Research and Exploration, deploys the ROV Holland I submarine from Marine Institute research ship Celtic Explorer to hunt for deep-sea corals and sponges which may have novel chemical compounds with pharmaceutical potential.
"Nature never ceases to amaze - to think that a coral, which spends its life on the sea bed and is never exposed to viruses and diseases which affect humanity so profoundly, has the potential to influence treatments and therapies,”Prof Allcock says.
“Drug development is a lengthy process, but the first step is finding the magic compounds with bio-reactivity in the laboratory,” she says.
Dr Carolina De Marco Verissimo of NUIG’s Molecular Parasitology Laboratory conducted a study of the coral-derived Tuaimenal and how it interacts with the Covid-19 enzyme.
“Tuaimenal A represents what we term in science as a ‘lead compound’ – that is, a basic structure from which scientists can produce more potent and specific drugs that could be used for the treatment of Covid-19 and perhaps other viruses,” she has said.
Results of the recently published work can be found here
