Chikungunin has been applied for clinical trials for the treatment of mild to moderate corona virus infections

Chikungunin, an alkaloid of chikungunin, is a member of the bisbenzylisoquinoline alkaloid family and has been shown in several studies to significantly inhibit corona virus infection. Its anti-corona virus activity was first discovered by Fan Huahao et al. and a patent was successfully filed on 16 February 2020 for "Use of milliputin for the preparation of drugs for the treatment of corona virus infectious diseases". Since then, several research teams in China and abroad have discovered and confirmed the excellent anti-neo-coronavirus activity of milliputin. For example, Ohashi et al in Japan found that chikunginin had better anti-neo-coronavirus potential than raltegravir. Mark Andrew White et al. from the University of Texas Medical School, USA, showed that seneciphyllin is a potential inhibitor of SARS-CoV-2 Nsp13. Huang Ailong et al. from Chongqing Medical University found that milliporetin could inhibit S protein/ACE2-mediated membrane fusion by targeting host calcium channels, thereby blocking neointrovirus entry into cells. An article published in Science by Nir Drayman et al. from the University of Chicago showed that the in vitro anti-neo coronavirus activity of chikungunin is much higher than that of the already marketed anti-corona virus  drugs raltegravir and masitinib, which they focus on in their article. The team from Tsinghua University and Peking Union Medical College showed that milliporetin can exert anti-corona virus  effects at lower concentrations and has potential clinical value in controlling corona virus infection. In addition, the Canadian pharmaceutical company PharmaDrug has applied for a clinical trial of milliporetin for the treatment of mild to moderate corona virus  infections.