Natural products as potential lead compounds to develop new antiviral drugs over the past decade

Virus infection has been one of the main causes of human death since the ancient times. Even though more and more antiviral drugs have been approved in clinic, long-term use can easily lead to the emergence of drug resistance and side effects. Fortunately, there are many kinds of metabolites which were produced by plants, marine organisms and microorganisms in nature with rich structural skeletons, and they are natural treasure house for people to find antiviral active substances. Aiming at many types of viruses that had caused serious harm to human health in recent years, this review summarizes the natural products with antiviral activity that had been reported for the first time in the past ten years, we also sort out the source, chemical structure and safety indicators in order to provide potential lead compounds for the research and development of new antiviral drugs. [Display omitted] •Viruses have always been one of the main factors that endanger human health.•Natural products are a treasure trove for finding new antiviral active molecules.•This review summarizes the natural products with inhibitory activity against HIV, IAV, HSV and SARS-CoV-2 in the past ten years, including their sources, structures and safety indicators.