PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - B.M. Ellen ter AU - N. Dinesh Kumar AU - E.M. Bouma AU - B. Troost AU - D.P.I. Pol van de AU - H.H. Ende van der-Metselaar AU - L. Apperloo AU - D. Gosliga van AU - M. Berge van den AU - M.C. Nawijn AU - P.H.J. Voort van der AU - J. Moser AU - I.A. Rodenhuis-Zybert AU - J.M. Smit TI - Resveratrol And Pterostilbene Potently Inhibit SARS-CoV-2 Infection In Vitro AID - 10.1101/2020.09.24.285940 DP - 2020 Jan 01 TA - bioRxiv PG - 2020.09.24.285940 4099 - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2020/09/24/2020.09.24.285940.short 4100 - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2020/09/24/2020.09.24.285940.full AB - The current COVID-19 pandemic is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and has an enormous impact on human health and economy1. In search for therapeutic options, researchers have proposed resveratrol, a food supplement with known antiviral, anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties as an advantageous antiviral therapy for SARS-CoV-2 infection2–4. Here, we provide evidence that both resveratrol and its metabolically more stable structural analog, pterostilbene, exhibits potent antiviral properties against SARS-CoV-2 in vitro. Resveratrol and pterostilbene showed antiviral activity in African green monkey kidney cells and in human primary bronchial epithelial cells cultured in an air-liquid interface system. Mechanistic analyses demonstrated that both compounds actively interfere with the post-entry steps of virus replication cycle and their antiviral activity is long-lasting. Collectively, our data indicate that resveratrol and pterostilbene are promising antiviral compounds to treat SARS-CoV-2 infection and advocate evaluation of these compounds in clinical trialsCompeting Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.