Micronutrients as immunomodulatory tools for COVID-19 management

Abstract

COVID-19 rapidly turned to a global pandemic posing lethal threats to overwhelming health care capabilities, despite its relatively low mortality rate. The clinical respiratory symptoms include dry cough, fever, anosmia, breathing difficulties, and subsequent respiratory failure. No known cure is available for COVID-19. Apart from the anti-viral strategy, the supports of immune effectors and modulation of immunosuppressive mechanisms is the rationale immunomodulation approach in COVID-19 management. Diet and nutrition are essential for healthy immunity. However, a group of micronutrients plays a dominant role in immunomodulation. The deficiency of most nutrients increases the individual susceptibility to virus infection with a tendency for severe clinical presentation. Despite a shred of evidence, the supplementation of a single nutrient is not promising in the general population. Individuals at high-risk for specific nutrient deficiencies likely benefit from supplementation. The individual dietary and nutritional status assessments are critical for determining the comprehensive actions in COVID-19.

A Mechanistic Link Between Selenium and Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

“…Even though they do not directly provide energy, they participate in metabolic processes that release energy, support immune functions and acts as antioxidants. The major micronutrients involved in protecting against viral infections include vitamins A, C, D, E, B6 and B12, folate, iron, zinc, copper, selenium and magnesium [46]. Some of these micronutrients (vitamin A, C and D) help to maintain intact epithelium by promoting epithelial growth and differentiation, which will prevent viral entry.…”

“…Some of these micronutrients (vitamin A, C and D) help to maintain intact epithelium by promoting epithelial growth and differentiation, which will prevent viral entry. Others act as potent antioxidants inside membrane lipid (vitamin E) and cytoplasm (vitamin C, vitamin A, copper, zinc, selenium) protecting membrane and organelles, and facilitate innate and adaptive immunity [46,47]. Deficiency of one of these micronutrients can decline immune function and increase susceptibility to viral infections and slow down the recovery after infection [43,48].…”

Interrelations between COVID-19 and other disorders

“…Waiting for the vaccine distribution, the need of the moment is to consolidate as much information as possible on COVID-19 in order to establish a plan to fight the virus through an antiviral strategy based on rational immunomodulatory tools centered on healthy diet and lifestyle and with a proper prevention protocol (physical distancing, avoiding crowds, wearing a mask, keeping rooms well ventilated, cleaning your hands, and coughing into a bent elbow or tissue), especially for the most susceptible and weak people [ [10] , [11] , [12] , [13] ]. In this light, the present review collects the available literature on the effects of viral infection on preexisting medical conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, obesity, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, kidney disease, cancer, asthma, immunodeficiency, pregnancy, and lifestyle choice like smoking habit.…”

Healthy Dietary Intake Behavior Potentially Modifies the Negative Effect of COVID-19 Lockdown on Depression: A Hospital and Health Center Survey

“…People with a better diet quality intake had a lower risk of depression (34,35). Moreover, assessment of dietary intake behavior is critically important for identifying the comprehensive approach to manage COVID-19 (36) and indicating the sustainable food intake during the lockdown (37). The healthy eating score (HES-5) is a short, simple, and valid tool to quickly assess the overall diet quality which is comparable with the 2015 health eating index (38).…”