Molecular docking and pharmacokinetic studies of phytocompounds from Nigerian Medicinal Plants as promising inhibitory agents against SARS-CoV-2 methyltransferase (nsp16).

Background: Since the index case was reported in China, COVID-19 has led to the death of at least 4 million people globally. Although there are some vaccine cocktails in circulation, the emergence of more virulent variants of SARS-CoV-2 may make the eradication of COVID-19 more difficult. Nsp16 is an S-adenosyl-L-Methionine-dependent methyltransferase that plays an important role in SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA cap formation-a crucial process that confers viral stability and prevents virus detection by cell innate immunity mechanisms.