Palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) Inhibits SARS-CoV-2 Entry by Interacting with S Protein and ACE-2 Receptor

Rossella Fonnesu, Venkata Bala Sai Chaitanya Thunuguntla, Ganesh Kumar Veeramachaneni, Jayakumar Singh Bondili, Veronica La Rocca, Carolina Filipponi, Pietro Giorgio Spezia, Maria Sidoti, Erika Plicanti, Paola Quaranta, Giulia Freer, Mauro Pistello, Michael Lee Mathai, Michele Lai. Viruses. 2022 May 17;14(5):1080.

Laboratory studyHumans

Design

Laboratory study

Subjects

Human Huh-7 cells infected with SARS-CoV-2, VSV or HSV-2

Dose used in the study

Not stated in the abstract; palmitoylethanolamide added to cell culture

Duration

Not stated in the abstract

What was measured

Viral infection rates after PEA treatment; binding to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein; lipid droplets in infected cells.

What the authors reported

This laboratory study found:

• Palmitoylethanolamide binding to the spike protein cut SARS-CoV-2 infection of cells by about 70%.
• It did not prevent infection by VSV or HSV-2.
• In infected Huh-7 cells, PEA dismantled lipid droplets that the virus uses.
• The authors describe this as two antiviral mechanisms, direct and indirect.

Limits of this study

A cell culture study; it cannot show effect in people with COVID-19. One author received a grant from Gencor, a palmitoylethanolamide supplier, to test PEA against inflammation; the funders are stated to have had no role in the study.

Source

PubMed 35632821 · doi:10.3390/v14051080

Entry checked against the abstract on PubMed on 2026-09-22. The dose shown is the dose the researchers used. It is not a recommendation. How to read this page.