Monolaurin for COVID-19

AbstractThe COVID-19 pandemic is still raging in most countries. Although the recent mass vaccination campaign has opened a new chapter in the battle against SARS-CoV-2, the world is still far from herd immunity. There is an urgent need to identify healthy people at high risk of contracting COVID-19, as well as supplements and nutraceuticals that can reduce the risk of infection or mitigate symptoms. In the present study, a metabolic phenotype that could protect individuals from SARS-CoV-2 infection or predispose them to developing COVID-19 was investigated. Untargeted metabolomics was performed on serum samples collected from 51 healthcare workers who were in good health at the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak in Italy, and who were later exposed to the same risk of developing COVID-19. Half of them developed COVID-19 within three weeks of the blood collection. Our results demonstrate the presence of a specific signature associated with protection from SARS-CoV-2. Circulating monolaurin, which has well-known antiviral and antibacterial properties, was higher in protected subjects, suggesting a potential defensive role against SARS-CoV-2 infection; thus, dietary supplements could boost the immune system against this infection. In addition, our data demonstrate that people with higher levels of cholesterol are at higher risk of developing COVID-19. The present study demonstrates that metabolomics can be of great help for developing personalized medicine and for supporting public healthcare strategies. Studies with larger cohorts of subjects are necessary to confirm our findings.

Monolaurin is monoacylglycerol which is a bioactive lipid since it can affect the human biological systems. This review discusses the bioactive properties of monolaurin, especially its role as an antibacterial, immune system enhancement, and its ability as an antiviral so that it has the potential to fight against various viral attacks. Monolaurin can act as an antibacterial in inhibiting the growth of several pathogenic bacteria, especially gram-positive bacteria. Monolaurin is known to be able to enhance the immune system through modulation of various immune systems, controlling pro-inflammatory cytokines, activating and attracting leukocytes to the site of infection. Monolaurin can also act as an antiviral, especially against enveloped viruses, such as Maedi-visna virus, vesicular stomatitis, herpes simplex-1, measles, HIV, cytomegalovirus, influenza, and corona. Monolaurin inhibits the virus through the mechanism of the disintegration of the viral membrane, prevents binding of the viral protein to the host-cell membrane, inhibits the process of assembling the viral RNA, and the process of virus maturation in the replication cycle. Therefore monolaurin has the potential for human consumption to boost the immune system and ward off various virus attacks, including severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which is the cause of COVID-19 which became a pandemic in the world.