Micronutrients and bioactive substances: Their potential roles in combating COVID-19

Abstract

Highlights COVID-19 pandemic has been overwhelmingly affecting public health and setting huge economic crises across the world. Despite the absence of specific drugs, there is a need for alternative nutritional approaches Micronutrients and bioactive substances can be considered in alternative nutritional approaches as they: have great potentials to interfere with spike glycoproteins, angiotensin converting enzyme 2 receptors and transmembrane protease serine 2 at the entry site of SARS-CoV-2; inhibit proteases such as Papain-Like protease, 3 Chymotrypsin-Like protease and RNA dependent RNA polymerase; have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and antiviral properties; can bolster immune system and help to mitigate clinical features

Use of Antioxidants for the Neuro-Therapeutic Management of COVID-19

“…Other antioxidant compounds that have been proposed as potential adjuvants in COVID-19 are zinc [ 260 ], selenium [ 261 ], melatonin [ 262 ], curcumin [ 263 ], N-acetylcystein [ 264 , 265 ], GC4419, a SOD mimetic [ 266 ], colchicine [ 267 ], α-lipoic acid [ 268 ], glutathione [ 269 ], broccoli or glucoraphanin capsules [ 270 ], dypiridamole [ 271 ], cannabidiol [ 272 ], combinations of vitamin D, magnesium, and vitamin B12 [ 273 ], and diammonium glycyrrhizinate with vitamin C [ 274 ].…”

The Importance of Propolis in Combating COVID-19

“…Some SARS-CoV-2 mutations repressive vaccine developments, affect the affinity to ACE-2 receptor and infectiousness. and immune response (Conti et al, 2021;Huang et al, 2020;Volz et al, 2021;Zhang et al, 2020 (Ali & Kunugi, 2021;Al Naggar et al, 2021;Jin et al, 2020;Keflie et al, 2021).…”

“…Also, zinc has the potential to threaten COVID-19 by antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulatory properties. Zinc can suppress the expressing of various chemokines, acute phase proteins such as fibrinogen and Creactive protein, proinflammatory cytokines, and some factors that have a role in inflammatory responses such as inhibition of NFκB and modulation of T cell functions that cause cytokine storms in COVID-19 (Keflie et al, 2021).…”

“…Another trace element in propolis is selenium that has a role in maintaining adaptive immune systems, inhibiting proinflammatory cytokines, chemokines, and production of free oxygen radicals. Experimentally it was shown that a selenium-deficient diet in mice is related to developing lung injury in post-influenza virus infections (Keflie et al, 2021;Suhupharani et al, 2019). Suhupharani et al ( 2019) biosynthesized selenium nanoparticles from ethanolic extracts of propolis for human health due to the antimicrobial and antioxidant activity of selenium.…”

“…Also, it was established that Vitamin A, Vitamin B12, Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Folate, Pyridoxine, Nicotinamide, and Retinoic acid have a protective role against COVID-19 by antioxidant, antiviral, anti-inflammatory activities and affecting the immune response (Keflie et al, 2021). It is also known that propolis has many kinds of vitamins and micronutritions and it could support immune systems too (Burdock, 1998;Marcucci, 1995).…”