Natural Bioactive Compounds from Fungi as Potential Candidates for Protease Inhibitors and Immunomodulators to Apply for Coronaviruses

The inhibition of viral protease is an important target in antiviral drug discovery and development. To date, protease inhibitor drugs, especially HIV-1 protease inhibitors, have been available for human clinical use in the treatment of coronaviruses. However, these drugs can have adverse side effects and they can become ineffective due to eventual drug resistance. Thus, the search for natural bioactive compounds that were obtained from bio-resources that exert inhibitory capabilities against HIV-1 protease activity is of great interest. Fungi are a source of natural bioactive compounds that offer therapeutic potential in the prevention of viral diseases and for the improvement of human immunomodulation. Here, we made a brief review of the current findings on fungi as producers of protease inhibitors and studies on the relevant candidate fungal bioactive compounds that can offer immunomodulatory activities as potential therapeutic agents of coronaviruses in the future

The amazing potential of fungi: 50 ways we can exploit fungi industrially

International audienceFungi are an understudied, biotechnologically valuable group of organisms. Due to the immense range of habitats thatfungi inhabit, and the consequent need to compete against a diverse array of other fungi, bacteria, and animals, fungi havedeveloped numerous survival mechanisms. The unique attributes of fungi thus herald great promise for their application inbiotechnology and industry. Moreover, fungi can be grown with relative ease, making production at scale viable. Thesearch for fungal biodiversity, and the construction of a living fungi collection, both have incredible economic potential inlocating organisms with novel industrial uses that will lead to novel products. This manuscript reviews fifty ways in whichfungi can potentially be utilized as biotechnology. We provide notes and examples for each potential exploitation and giveexamples from our own work and the work of other notable researchers. We also provide a flow chart that can be used toconvince funding bodies of the importance of fungi for biotechnological research and as potential products. Fungi haveprovided the world with penicillin, lovastatin, and other globally significant medicines, and they remain an untappedresource with enormous industrial potentia