Substance in brown coal may aid in combating viruses

New Delhi, Aug 20 (ANI): Scientists have identified biologically active molecular components of humic substances extracted from coal, and discovered substances with antiviral activity against the tick-borne encephalitis virus. The study was published in the journal 'Scientific Reports'. Natural multicomponent mixtures, such as humic substances found in soil, peat, and coal are a significant source of biologically active compounds. Understanding their composition and extracting active components can be a great help in creating new drugs. However, finding a specific compound in these environments is a highly challenging task that requires advanced methods capable of differentiating and separating one substance from another. The study revealed that humic substances inhibit the reproduction of a dangerous human pathogen, tick-borne encephalitis virus. The authors relied on high-resolution mass spectrometry to study the composition of humic samples and chemoinformatics to analyse their find