Table 2.

Examples of natural cholesterol-lowering compounds tested to exhibit antiviral activities.

Compounds	Original Natural Sources	Functions on Cholesterol Metabolism	Viruses Studied to Be Affected
Statins	fungi	HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor	HBV [118,119], HCV [84,86,116], HEV [7], and other flaviviruses [97,100,101,102,104]
Metformin	Galega officinalis	AMPK activator	HBV [122], HCV [117], and other flaviviruses [109]
Nordihydroguaiaretic acid	Larrea tridentate	AMPK activator	Flaviviruses [111,112]
Resveratrol	Grapes, blueberries, raspberries, mulberries, and peanuts	HMG-CoA reductase mRNA expression inhibitor	HBV [135]
Salvianolic acid C	Salvia prionitis, Origanum vulgare, and others	HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor	SARS-CoV-2 [127]
Curcumin	Curcuma longa species	HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor	HCV [128], HBV [129], dengue virus [130], and Zika virus [131]
Docosanol	Docosanol is a saturated fatty alcohol found in plants	HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor	Lipid-enveloped viruses, including herpes simplex virus [142]
Cinnamic acid	Cinnamon oil, Vitellaria paradoxa oil, and balsams from plants	HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor	HCV [137]
Berberine	Berberis	HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor	HCV [141]