4.2.2. Angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE-2)
ACE-2 is the functional receptor of the COVID-19 virus. It is a negative regulator of the Renin-Angiotensin System (RAS) . It is seen that the S protein of the virus will bind to this receptor located on the host cell with great affinity thereby resulting in higher pathogenicity . Therefore, by making use of some sort of inhibitor or blocking agent ACE-2 becomes a potential therapeutic target in the treatment ofCOVID-19. It is possible to employ viral neutralizing antibodies as they are assumed to be the receptor-binding domain (RBD) specific and can play a role in neutralizing the viral particles .Some natural compounds have displayed a good binding affinity towards ACE-2 such as Amentoflavone, Chysanthemin, and Biovobin.