Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) contain ≥2 double-bond desaturations within the acyl chain. Omega-3 (n-3) and Omega-6 (n-6) PUFAs are the two known important families in human health and nutrition. In both Omega families, many forms of PUFAs exist: α-linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) from the n-3 family and linoleic acid (LA), dihomo-γ-linolenic acid (DGLA), and arachidonic acid (AA) from the n-6 family are the important PUFAs for human health. Omega-3 and Omega-6 PUFAs are competitively metabolized by the same set of desaturation, elongation, and oxygenase enzymes. The lipid mediators produced from their oxidative metabolism perform opposing (antagonistic) functions in the human body. Except for DGLA, n-6 PUFA-derived lipid mediators enhance inflammation, platelet aggregation, and vasoconstriction, while those of n-3 inhibit inflammation and platelet aggregation and enhance vasodilation. Overconsumption of n-6 PUFAs with low intake of n-3 PUFAs is highly associated with the pathogenesis of many modern diet-related chronic diseases. The volume of n-6 PUFAs is largely exceeding the volume of n-3PUFAs. The current n-6/n-3 ratio is 20-50/1. Due to higher ratios of n-6/n-3 in modern diets, larger quantities of LA- and AA-derived lipid mediators are produced, becoming the main causes of the formation of thrombus and atheroma, the allergic and inflammatory disorders, and the proliferation of cells, as well as the hyperactive endocannabinoid system. Therefore, in order to reduce all of these risks which are due to overconsumption of n-6 PUFAs, individuals are required to take both PUFAs in the highly recommended n-6/n-3 ratio which is 4-5/1.
Novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) is a positive-sense RNA virus that possesses four genes that encode the spike (S), membrane (M), nucleocapsid (N), and envelope (E) proteins. The virus was originated in seafood market selling live animals and responsible for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The initial case was traced to the city of Wuhan in the province of Hubei, China, reported as an emerging respiratory virus, the outbreak was reported to WHO on December 31, 2019, and soon after identified the causative pathogen as a beta coronavirus named as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2); Furthermore, It is a highly contagious virus that spreads swiftly outside of China in March and the World Health Organization had to declare COVID-19 pandemic on March 11, 2020, and as of August 15, 2020, more than 21 million confirmed cases have been reported, with > 755 786 deaths worldwide. This day’s novel coronavirus-2019 is the most infectious virus with high infectivity and low mortality rate where a high mortality rate was observed among people above the age of sixteen (60) years and with the pre-existing health condition. To date, there is no clinically approved antiviral drug or vaccine available to be used against COVID-19. However, Preventive measures such as masks, hand hygiene practices, avoidance of public contact, case detection, contact tracing, and quarantines have been discussed as ways to reduce transmission. Therefore, the purpose of this review is to summarize the basic biological properties of novel coronavirus 2019.
Int. J. Appl. Sci. Biotechnol. Vol 9(1): 16-22
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