Dual Modulation of IL-6 Pathway by Flavonoid Metal Complex as Immune Boosters for SARS-CoV-2 Therapy

It is observed that Cytokine Release Syndrome (CRS) is one of the major causes of the death of several COVID-19 patients. Though several cytokines are involved in CRS, IL-6 modulation plays a major role. We aim to develop new flavonoid metal complexes as immune boosters targeting IL-6 for SARS-CoV-2 treatment. To find potential flavonoids, PyRx 0.9 tool has been used to dock 152 secondary plant metabolites against IL-6 (PDB ID: 1ALU). The top scorer flavonoid (quercetin) was made into quercetin zinc ascorbic acid metal complex (QM-1). The in-vitro hemolytic research revealed a modest hemolytic effect in the QM1 metal complex. To control the IL-6 inhibitory potential, the QM1 complex was screened for cytotoxicity in cell lines MCF-7 which predominantly expresses the IL-6 level. The cytotoxic effects of the QM1 complex were considered relative to the marketable Nutridac formulation. The complex quercetin-zinc-ascorbic acid (QM1) significantly affected MCF-7 cells in concentrations 48.54 μg/mL, respectively.