| Summary: | Teetat Kongratanapasert,1,* Supasek Kongsomros,2,5,* Nlin Arya,3 Kripitch Sutummaporn,3 Witthawat Wiriyarat,3 Yada Akkhawattanangkul,4 Tussapon Boonyarattanasoonthorn,5 Nithi Asavapanumas,5 Phongthon Kanjanasirirat,6 Ampa Suksatu,2 Khanit Sa-ngiamsuntorn,7 Suparerk Borwornpinyo,6,8 Pornpun Vivithanaporn,5 Somchai Chutipongtanate,5,9 Suradej Hongeng,6,9 Boonsong Ongphiphadhanakul,10 Arunee Thitithanyanont,2 Phisit Khemawoot,5 Piyamitr Sritara10 1Program in Translational Medicine, Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, 10400, Thailand; 2Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand; 3Department of Preclinic and Applied Animal Science, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Mahidol University, Nakhonpathom, 73170, Thailand; 4Department of Clinical Medicine and Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Mahidol University, Nakhonpathom, 73170, Thailand; 5Chakri Naruebodindra Medical Institute, Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, Samutprakarn, 10540, Thailand; 6Excellence Center for Drug Discovery, Faculty of Science, Mahidol University, Bangkok, 10400, Thailand; 7Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Mahidol University, Bangkok, 10400, Thailand; 8Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science, Mahidol University, Bangkok, 10400, Thailand; 9Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, 10400, Thailand; 10Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, 10400, Thailand*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Phisit Khemawoot, Chakri Naruebodindra Medical Institute, Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, Bang Phli, Samut Prakarn, 10540, Thailand, Tel/Fax +66 28395161, Email phisit.khe@mahidol.ac.thBackground: The outbreak of COVID-19 has led to the suffering of people around the world, with an inaccessibility of specific and effective medication. Fingerroot extract, which showed in vitro anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity, could alleviate the deficiency of antivirals and reduce the burden of health systems.Aim of Study: In this study, we conducted an experiment in SARS-CoV-2-infected hamsters to determine the efficacy of fingerroot extract in vivo.Materials and Methods: The infected hamsters were orally administered with vehicle control, fingerroot extract 300 or 1000 mg/kg, or favipiravir 1000 mg/kg at 48 h post-infection for 7 consecutive days. The hamsters (n = 12 each group) were sacrificed at day 2, 4 and 8 post-infection to collect the plasma and lung tissues for analyses of viral output, lung histology and lung concentration of panduratin A.Results: All animals in treatment groups reported no death, while one hamster in the control group died on day 3 post-infection. All treatments significantly reduced lung pathophysiology and inflammatory mediators, PGE2 and IL-6, compared to the control group. High levels of panduratin A were found in both the plasma and lung of infected animals.Conclusion: Fingerroot extract was shown to be a potential of reducing lung inflammation and cytokines in hamsters. Further studies of the full pharmacokinetics and toxicity are required before entering into clinical development.Keywords: Boesenbergia rotunda, Zingiberaceae, panduratin A, SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19, hamster
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