Naturally Occurring Bioactives as Antivirals: Emphasis on Coronavirus Infection

Abstract

The current coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak is a significant threat to human health and the worldwide economy. Coronaviruses cause a variety of diseases, such as pneumonia-like upper respiratory tract illnesses, gastroenteritis, encephalitis, multiple organ failure involving lungs and kidneys which might cause death. Since the pandemic started there have been more than 107 million COVID-19 infections caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and ∼2.4 million deaths globally. SARS-CoV-2 is easily transmitted from person-to-person and has spread quickly across all continents. With the continued increase in morbidity and mortality caused by COVID-19, and the damage to the global economy, there is an urgent need for effective prevention and treatment strategies. The advent of safe and effective vaccines has been a significant step forward in the battle against COVID-19, however treatment of the symptoms associated with the disease still requires new anti-viral and anti-inflammatory drug therapies. To this end, scientists have been investigating available natural products that may be effective against SARS-CoV-2, with some products showing promise in fighting several viral infections. Since many natural products are dietary components or are prepared as dietary supplements people tend to consider them safer than synthetic drugs. For example, Traditional Chinese Medicines have been effectively utilized to treat SARS-CoV-2 infected patients with promising results. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge of COVID-19 therapies and the therapeutic potential of medicinal plant extracts and natural compounds for the treatment of several viral infections, with special emphasis on SARS-CoV-2 infection. Realistic strategies that can be employed for the effective use of bioactive compounds for anti-SARS-CoV-2 research are also provided.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil-Based Green Formulations With Promising Antimicrobial Activity Against Drug-Resistant Isolates

“…Efforts are now focusing on natural products, considered extremely interesting and promising for the preparation of pharmacological formulations and nutraceuticals ( Sessa et al, 2015 ; Sharifi-Rad et al, 2020 ; Okagu et al, 2021 ; Oliveira et al, 2021 ). Recently, the interest in nutraceuticals is growing as most of them possess multiple therapeutic properties, including antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer activities ( Di Pietro et al, 2013 ; Sessa et al, 2017a ; Sessa et al, 2017b ; Filardo et al, 2020 ; Mattioli et al, 2020 ; Ayatollahi et al, 2021 ). In this regard, extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) obtained from cold pressure of Olea europaea L. drupes, a cornerstone in the Mediterranean diet, is well known for its nutritional properties and health effects, especially for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases and metabolic disorders.…”

The role of natural products from medicinal plants against COVID-19: traditional medicine practice in Tanzania

“…Accordingly, functional groups in chemicals play a purposeful role on the interference of biochemical reactions to SARS-CoV-2. This means that, chemical drugs for medication against SARS-CoV-2 are needed either to disrupt lipid layer, or to bind with protein to cause biochemistry malfunctions leading to interfere targeted viral metabolisms or viral RNA components to inhibit genetic replication [ 27 ]. The recognized nature of secondary metabolites in this study bear a resemblance to combat the COVID-19 as compared with other studies 11 , 18 , 28 .…”

Editorial: Ethnopharmacological Responses to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic

“…also Brendler et al, 2021). The rest of the studies covered traditional medicine systems Ayurveda (Indian medicine), traditional, African, Unani, Kampo, and medicines from Bangladesh, Iran, Indonesia and Turkey ( Figure 1A ) ( Ai et al, 2020 ; Ayatollahi et al, 2021 ; Benarba and Pandiella, 2020 ; Chen et al, 2021 ; Fakhri et al, 2021 ; Ge and He, 2020 ; Jha et al, 2021 ; Kim, 2021 ; Kalhori et al, 2021 ; Lem et al, 2021 ; Li et al, 2020 ; Lim et al, 2021 ; Liu et al, 2020 ; Luo et al, 2020 ; Majnooni et al, 2020 ; Ma et al, 2021 ; Mandal et al, 2021 ; Peter et al, 2021 ; Qiu et al, 2020 ; Remali and Aizat, 2021 ; Ren et al, 2021 ; Silveira et al, 2020 ; Spicer, 2021 ; Verma et al, 2020 ; Wu et al, 2020 ; Wu et al, 2021 ; Yang et al, 2020 ; Zhang et al, 2020 ; Zhou et al, 2020 ).…”