Potential health benefits of zinc supplementation for the management of COVID‐19 pandemic

Abstract

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the etiological agent for the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). The COVID-19 pandemic has created unimaginable and unprecedented global health crisis. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, millions of dollars have been spent, hospitalization overstretched with increasing morbidity and mortality. All these have resulted in unprecedented global economic catastrophe. Several drugs and vaccines are currently being evaluated, tested, and administered in the frantic efforts to stem the dire consequences of COVID-19 with varying degrees of successes. Zinc possesses potential health benefits against COVID-19 pandemic by improving immune response, minimizing infection and inflammation, preventing lung injury, inhibiting viral replication through the interference of the viral genome transcription, protein translation, attachment, and host infectivity. However, this review focuses on the various mechanisms of action of How to cite this article: Oyagbemi AA, Ajibade TO, Aboua YG, et al. Potential health benefits of zinc supplementation for the management of COVID-19 pandemic.

The Association between Vitamin D and Zinc Status and the Progression of Clinical Symptoms among Outpatients Infected with SARS-CoV-2 and Potentially Non-Infected Participants: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…The modulation of antiviral immunity by zinc can also limit SARS-CoV-2 infection through the upregulation of interferon-alpha (IFN-α) production through the Janus kinase signal transducer and activator of transcription-1 (JAK/STAT1) signaling pathway in leukocytes [62] and increasing its antiviral activity [63]. In addition to its immunomodulatory effects, zinc, as an antiviral agent, exerts its beneficial roles and potential applications in the management of COVID-19, possibly by the enhancement of total antioxidant capacity [64].…”

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 ].…”

COVID-19: Zinc and Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 (ACE2) Deficiencies as Determinants of Risk and Severity of Disease: A Narrative Review

“…Supplemental zinc could reverse this with preservation of the ACE2 axis, mitigation of the effects of the ACE axis with decreased inflammation, vasoconstriction, and thromboses [ 25 ].…”

“…Furthermore, clinical exacerbation that occurs in many high-risk patients at approximately day 8–9 (the beginning of the second week of illness) is thought to represent a “tipping point” with increasing oscillations, dysregulation, and disruption of the “Yin/Yang” balance [ 26 ] usually maintained by the RAS (Table 1 ). This loss of control and predominance of the ACE “adverse” axis [ 27 ] is signaled downstream by Ang II acting via the AT1 receptor to increase vasoconstriction, inflammation, and thromboses, In the lung, Ang II hyperactivity could result in multifocal pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), thromboses, or (systemically) cytokine storm [ 7 , 25 , 27 , 28 ].…”