Camellia sinensis for COVID-19

There is currently no particular cure for coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19). However, studies suggest that certain medicinal plants, fruits, and vegetables possess bioactive substances capable of ameliorating the disease. This review aims to articulate fruits, vegetables, and medicinal plants that have anti-coronavirus properties. Relevant articles were collected from reputable academic repositories, namely SpringerLink, PubMed, Google Scholar, and Scopus. Available information shows that alkaline-rich fruits and vegetables, such as mango, cabbage, lemon, onion, okra, carrot, cucumber, pepper, spinach, and avocado, have anti-coronavirus properties. The mentioned fruits and vegetables stimulate an unfavorable pH for the replication of the virus and normalize the acid-base imbalance induced in the lungs and kidneys of the infected. Fruits and vegetables also contain health-boosting substances such as proteins, amino acids, glycosides, vitamins, and minerals. Medicinal plants, including Clitoria ternatea L., Vitex trifolia L., Sphaeranthus indicus L., Clerodendrum inerme L. Gaertn., Glycyrrhiza glabra L., Strobilanthes cusia (Nees) Kuntze, Vitis vinifera var. aestivalis (Michx.) Kuntze, Hyoscyamus niger L., and Cedrela Sinensis Juss., also possess anti-coronavirus properties. Clitoria ternatea and Cedrela sinensis reduce the virus’s replication by shredding its receptor, called the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). Vitex trifolia and Sphaeranthus indicus prevent hyper-inflammatory responses and cytokine storms. Glycyrrhiza glabra induces nitrous oxide synthase and blocks the virus’s replication. Clerodendrum inerme and Strobilanthes cusia inhibit the virus’s ribosome and protein translation. Vitis vinifera represses nucleocapsid protein and lowers apoptosis. Hyoscyamus niger inhibits Ca2+ channels and lessens breathing difficulties induced by the coronavirus. Thus, dietary supplements and drugs formulated with these medicinal plants, fruits, and vegetables may lessen the effects of COVID-19.

Desde o início da pandemia do novo coronavírus, houve grande preocupação diante de uma doença cujos possíveis impactos e morbidade ainda eram desconhecidos, iniciando, assim, uma corrida na descoberta de um tratamento para esta doença. Nesse sentido diversas pesquisas foram e estão sendo realizadas em busca de espécies vegetais passíveis de serem utilizadas na terapêutica da COVID-19. Portanto, esse estudo tem como objetivo realizar revisão de estudos etnodirigidos de espécies vegetais referenciadas na terapêutica e/ou prevenção da COVID-19. Foi realizada uma busca nas bases Scielo, LILACS e PubMed entre 2020 a 2022. Foram selecionados 32 artigos, predominando os de língua inglesa (n= 30), em 2021 (56,25%) e nos países Irã, Índia e Estados Unidos (15,62%); 86 espécies vegetais foram referidas, pertencentes a 51 famílias, com predomínio de Asteraceae e Laminaceae. As espécies mais referidas foram Glycyrrhiza glabra L. (4,65%) e Nigella sativa L. (3,48%), predominando o uso da raiz (29,4 %), preparadas como extrato aquoso (23,5%). Para futuros trabalhos, deve ser estimulada a continuidade dos estudos de validação com tais espécies, fundamentados na certificação de eficácia, segurança e qualidade; afim de minimizar os riscos do uso popular de produto inadequado e contribuir na pesquisa e desenvolvimento de um futuro bioproduto no tratamento do SARS-CoV-2.

AbstractTo attain promising pharmacotherapies, researchers have applied drug repurposing (DR) techniques to discover the candidate medicines to combat the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak. Although many DR approaches have been introduced for treating different diseases, only structure-based DR (SBDR) methods can be employed as the first therapeutic option against the COVID-19 pandemic because they rely on the rudimentary information about the diseases such as the sequence of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 genome. Hence, to try out new treatments for the disease, the first attempts have been made based on the SBDR methods which seem to be among the proper choices for discovering the potential medications against the emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases. Given the importance of SBDR approaches, in the present review, well-known SBDR methods are summarized, and their merits are investigated. Then, the databases and software applications, utilized for repurposing the drugs against COVID-19, are introduced. Besides, the identified drugs are categorized based on their targets. Finally, a comparison is made between the SBDR approaches and other DR methods, and some possible future directions are proposed.

The emergence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has affected many countries throughout the world. As urgency is a necessity, most efforts have focused on identifying small molecule drugs that can be repurposed for use as anti-SARS-CoV-2 agents. Although several drug candidates have been identified using in silico method and in vitro studies, most of these drugs require the support of in vivo data before they can be considered for clinical trials. Several drugs are considered promising therapeutic agents for COVID-19. In addition to the direct-acting antiviral drugs, supportive therapies including traditional Chinese medicine, immunotherapies, immunomodulators, and nutritional therapy could contribute a major role in treating COVID-19 patients. Some of these drugs have already been included in the treatment guidelines, recommendations, and standard operating procedures. In this article, we comprehensively review the approved and potential therapeutic drugs, immune cells-based therapies, immunomodulatory agents/drugs, herbs and plant metabolites, nutritional and dietary for COVID-19.

In December 2019, an outbreak of a respiratory disease called the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by a new coronavirus known as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) began in Wuhan, China. The SARS-CoV-2, an encapsulated positive-stranded RNA virus, spread worldwide with disastrous consequences for people’s health, economies, and quality of life. The disease has had far-reaching impacts on society, including economic disruption, school closures, and increased stress and anxiety. It has also highlighted disparities in healthcare access and outcomes, with marginalized communities disproportionately affected by the SARS-CoV-2. The symptoms of COVID-19 range from mild to severe. There is presently no effective cure. Nevertheless, significant progress has been made in developing COVID-19 vaccine for different therapeutic targets. For instance, scientists developed multifold vaccine candidates shortly after the COVID-19 outbreak after Pfizer and AstraZeneca discovered the initial COVID-19 vaccines. These vaccines reduce disease spread, severity, and mortality. The addition of rapid diagnostics to microscopy for COVID-19 diagnosis has proven crucial. Our review provides a thorough overview of the historical development of COVID-19 and molecular and biochemical characterization of the SARS-CoV-2. We highlight the potential contributions from insect and plant sources as anti-SARS-CoV-2 and present directions for future research.