AUTHOR=Rivero Berti Ignacio , Gantner Melisa E. , Rodriguez Santiago , Islan German A. , Fávaro Wagner J. , Talevi Alan , Castro Guillermo R. , Durán Nelson TITLE=Potential biocide roles of violacein JOURNAL=Frontiers in Nanotechnology VOLUME=5 YEAR=2023 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/nanotechnology/articles/10.3389/fnano.2023.1186386 DOI=10.3389/fnano.2023.1186386 ISSN=2673-3013 ABSTRACT=

Violacein is a pigment produced by Gram-negative bacteria, which has shown several beneficial biological activities. The most relevant activities of violacein include the interference in the physiological activities of biological membranes, inhibition of cell proliferation, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory activities. Moreover, the antiviral activities of violacein against some enveloped and non-enveloped viruses have also been reported. Violacein showed a wide spectrum of protease inhibition, both experimentally and in silico. Other in silico studies have suggested that violacein binds to the SARS-CoV-2 spike. Empirical physicochemical studies indicate that violacein (or, occasionally, its derivatives) may be administered orally to treat different disorders. In addition, different alternatives to product violacein, and molecular devices for delivery of this pigment are reviewed.