Tumor Necrosis Factor-Alpha (TNF- α) and Antiviral Activities of Artemisia SPP. Extracts on SARS-COV2
Taiwo Abayomi Banjo, Michael Olubusayo Binuyo, Willie Siyanbola, Joseph Senu Ashidi, Ngozi Mirabel Otuonye, Wasiu Bamidele Mutiu, Saheed Adekunle Akinola, Raheem Akinwunmi Akindele, Rasheed Omotayo Adeyemo, Oluwabunmi Motunrayo Fatungase, Hubert Kageruka, Chinedum Taahie Oparaugo, Farouk Adedeji Oladoja, Farouk Adedeji Oladoja, Ahmed Adebowale Adedeji, Ebelechukwu Eugenia Afocha, Lateef Saka Kazim
Rwanda Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences, doi:10.4314/rjmhs.v8i2.2
Background The challenges posed by Coronavirus disease 2019 , including treatment resistance, pandemic threats, and vaccine failure, necessitate the need for locally sourced efficacious therapeutic interventions. We investigated the in-vitro antiviral effects of natural medicinal compounds from Artemisia spp., validated by molecular docking, on TNF-α levels in hospitalized SARS-CoV-2 patients from a designated Lagos COVID-19 isolation centre. Methods Bioactive chemicals in ethanol and dichloromethane (DCM) extracts from freshly collected, dried, and powdered A. afra and A. annua leaves were characterised using UHPLC. A cross-sectional study of 253 hospitalised SARS-CoV-2 patients was conducted to evaluate the extracts' antiviral activity through serum TNF-α modulation; and docking techniques to determine compound-TNF-α binding affinities.
Results Phytochemical screening of A. annua revealed therapeutic constituents ((lactones, monoterpenes, flavonoids, and sesquiterpenes (artemisinin, rutin, and phenolic acids)) confirmed by UHPLC. The dichloromethane extract of A. afra demonstrated greater TNF-α inhibition in critically ill COVID-19 patients unlike ethanol extracts. Molecular docking validated TNF-α binding affinity for most isolated compounds. Conclusions Artemisia spp. promises antiviral-proinflammatory cytokine regulation, justifying clinical COVID-19 prophylaxis/therapeutic research, especially against resistant SARS-CoV-2 variants. This could reduce vaccination dependency in impoverished nations while addressing vaccine efficacy and local immunity gaps.
Authors´ contributions TAB, WS, JA, AAA, were involved in the following roles: conceptualization, development, sampling, analysis, research strategy, and critical review; article manuscript draughting; molecular docking, editing, study interpretation, and project management. Research strategy, sampling, technical lab work, analysis of laboratory procedures and outcomes, result interpretation, review, and editing were all areas in which MOB, SAA, ROA, NMO, WBM, CTO and HKhad a hand. LSK, EEA, OMF, RAAhelped with the research strategy, analysis, interpretation, and editing of the paper. FAO helped with the analysis, interpreted the results, and prepared the manuscript, which included writing the first draft, reviewing it, editing it, and even doing molecular docking. All authors assessed and approved the final manuscript for publication.
Conflict of interest statement The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Consent for publication Not applicable. This article is published open access under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial NoDerivatives (CC BYNC-ND4.0). People can copy and redistribute the article only for noncommercial purposes and as long as they give appropriate credit to the authors. They cannot distribute any modified material obtained by remixing, transforming or building upon this article. See https://creativecommons . org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
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"abstract": "<jats:p>BackgroundThe challenges posed by Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), including treatment resistance, pandemic threats, and vaccine failure, necessitate the need for locally sourced efficacious therapeutic interventions. We investigated the in-vitro antiviral effects of natural medicinal compounds from Artemisia spp., validated by molecular docking, on TNF-α levels in hospitalized SARS-CoV-2 patients from a designated Lagos COVID-19 isolation centre.MethodsBioactive chemicals in ethanol and dichloromethane (DCM) extracts from freshly collected, dried, and powdered A. afra and A. annua leaves were characterised using UHPLC. A cross-sectional study of 253 hospitalised SARS-CoV-2 patients was conducted to evaluate the extracts' antiviral activity through serum TNF-α modulation; and docking techniques to determine compound-TNF-α binding affinities.ResultsPhytochemical screening of A. annua revealed therapeutic constituents ((lactones, monoterpenes, flavonoids, and sesquiterpenes (artemisinin, rutin, and phenolic acids)) confirmed by UHPLC. The dichloromethane extract of A. afra demonstrated greater TNF-α inhibition in critically ill COVID-19 patients unlike ethanol extracts. Molecular docking validated TNF-α binding affinity for most isolated compounds. ConclusionsArtemisia spp. promises antiviral-proinflammatory cytokine regulation, justifying clinical COVID-19 prophylaxis/therapeutic research, especially against resistant SARS-CoV-2 variants. This could reduce vaccination dependency in impoverished nations while addressing vaccine efficacy and local immunity gaps.Rwanda J Med Health Sci 2025;8(2):181-197</jats:p>",
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