Abstract
SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2) was first reported in Hubei Province of the People's Republic of China, during a pneumonia outbreak in late 2019. COVID-19 became a viral pandemic causing higher mortalities across the globe. Increasing mutations in the spike proteins led to increased severity and speedy transmission. Since its appearece, the scientific world has been trying to develop an effective drug to treatment COVID-19. Main protease responsible for viral replication is found to be potent target irrespective of SARS-CoV-2 mutations. So, this investigation focuses on evaluating the protease inhibiting capabilities of Oscillatoria sp. derived bioactive compounds through in silico processes. The bioactive compounds with potential activities were identified, analysed and retrieved from database of KNApSAck. Binding sites of the target protein was examined using Cast P online server. Total of 29 bioactive compounds from Osciallatoria sp. were subjected to molecular docking against protease of SARS-CoV-2. From the analysis, 5 compounds showed binding energy (>-7 kcal/mol) and significant interactions on binding aminoacid residues. PASS prediction showed all the compounds have probable antiviral activity. Therefore, it was concluded that, the compounds Anabaenopeptin F, Oscillamide Y, Raocyclamide A, Anabaenopeptin B and Largamide A can be utilised for development of effective drugs in the treatment of COVID-19 infection.