Ulvan for COVID-19

Ulvan may be beneficial for COVID-19 according to the studies below. COVID-19 involves the interplay of 500+ viral and host proteins and factors providing many therapeutic targets. Scientists have proposed 11,000+ potential treatments. c19early.org analyzes 220+ treatments. We have not reviewed ulvan in detail.
Raghuraman et al., Oligosaccharides as an Alternative Drug for COVID-19 – An In Silico Analysis, Letters in Applied NanoBioScience, doi:10.33263/LIANBS151.017
COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 that keeps affecting the lives of several million people. It is the need of the hour to find a potential drug that prevents this viral infection, saving millions of lives worldwide. Studies have shown that sulphated polysaccharides possess anti-viral activities against dengue, malaria, HIV, and hepatitis B virus. Oligosaccharides have remarkable biological properties for maintaining human health and are being explored for their potential to treat diseases such as Parkinson's and Crohn's. In this perspective, the present study has focused on exploring the anti-viral nature of oligosaccharides against SARS-CoV-2 by molecular docking against the receptor-binding domains of COVID-19 target structural proteins using AUTODOCK, and the analysis was performed using ADMET and pkCSM tools to predict the toxicity properties of oligosaccharides. Docking results showed that oligomers derived from exopolysaccharides, such as Curdlan and dextran, and their sulphated derivatives, as well as sulphated polysaccharides of seaweed origin, such as fucoidan, carrageenan, and ulvan, had better binding affinity with the target proteins. The binding affinity for 10 units of oligomers of fucoidan with nucleocapsid receptor - binding domain was -11.5 (kcal/mol), followed by ulvan oligomers with -11.2 (kcal/mol). The 10 units of oligomers of fucoidan had a higher binding score with nucleocapsid receptor binding domains of COVID -19, followed by ulvan oligomers when compared to other sulphated oligosaccharides and control ligand. Further, the toxicity profiles of these oligomers, evaluated computationally, were found to be encouraging and safe with respect to toxicological aspects. Therefore, these bioactive oligosaccharides can be exploited as an effective anti-viral therapeutic mediator for SARS-CoV-2. This study will, to our knowledge, shed light on the application of oligosaccharides in developing a possible therapeutic intervention against COVID-19. This study is the first report to assess the potential of sulphated oligosaccharides for the development of anti-viral agents for COVID-19.
Binsuwaidan et al., Prospective Antiviral Effect of Ulva lactuca Aqueous Extract against COVID-19 Infection, Marine Drugs, doi:10.3390/md22010030
Marine algal extracts exhibit a potent inhibitory effect against several enveloped and non-enveloped viruses. The infection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has several adverse effects, including an increased mortality rate. The anti-COVID-19 agents are still limited; this issue requires exploring novel, effective anti-SARS-CoV-2 therapeutic approaches. This study investigated the antiviral activity of an aqueous extract of Ulva lactuca, which was collected from the Gulf of Suez, Egypt. The aqueous extract of Ulva lactuca was characterized by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) analyses. According to the HPLC analysis, the extract comprises several sugars, mostly rhamnose (32.88%). The FTIR spectra showed numerous bands related to the functional groups. EDX analysis confirmed the presence of different elements, such as oxygen (O), carbon (C), sulfur (S), magnesium (Mg), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), and sodium (Na), with different concentrations. The aqueous extract of U. lactuca (0.0312 mg/mL) exhibited potent anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity via virucidal activity, inhibition of viral replication, and interference with viral adsorption (% inhibitions of 64%, 33.3%, and 31.1%, respectively). Consequently, ulvan could be a promising compound for preclinical study in the drug development process to combat SARS-CoV-2.
N et al., Screening of Antiviral Efficacy of Few Seaweeds of Tamil Nadu Coast, Proceedings of Anticancer Research, doi:10.26689/par.v7i5.5161
Lately there has been a lot of interest worldwide in studies on the antiviral activities of marine natural secondary metabolites, notably marine polysaccharides. It has been established that polysaccharides made from marine sources and their derivatives have antiviral effects against potent viruses. Agricultural, biological, food, and pharmaceutical industries all make extensive use of goods obtained from algae. The most well-known chemical components found in algae are polysaccharides, which have been the subject of a variety of studies because of their varied bioactivities. Polysaccharides made from algae have recently risen to the top of pharmaceutical research due to their fascinating antiviral potential. Currently, COVID-19 can be prevented with vaccination, but the brown alga Sargassum wightii has several bioactive compounds that have the following qualities and may be a better option. S. wightii is one of the marine algae species that is rich in sulfated polysaccharides, the secondary metabolites which have antiviral action and the capacity to prevent viral proliferation. Fucoidan, a long-chain sulfated polysaccharide found in various brown algae, has potent antiviral effects. Additionally, sulfated polysaccharides from green algae (such as ulvans) and red algae (such as carrageenan), and lectins from red algae (such as griffithsin) have antiviral therapeutic agents against coronaviruses and other viruses. This research focuses on screening seaweeds for possible antiviral compounds to treat viral infections notably COVID-19.