Primary Screening of Antiviral Potential of Quercus ilex (Wood) Extract 
 Against BVDV: A Pestivirus Model of Hepatitis C Virus

Yousef, Omar M.; Raaey, Mohamed El; Shaaraw, Tamer H. El; El-Sanousi, Ahmed A.; Shalaby, Mohamed A.

doi:10.3923/ijv.2014.112.120

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

References 21 publications

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“…The ethyl acetate and methanol extracts of Daucus virgatus exhibited significant inhibitory effects against Coxsackievirus B , a small RNA virus of the Picornaviridae family (Snene et al 2017 ). Worthy of note is the fact that the wood extract from one of the most abundant trees in the Mediterranean forests, Quercus ilex L., showed antiviral effects against (H9N2) influenza and bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD) viruses, this latter being a pestivirus model of hepatitis C virus (HCV), on MDCK cells (Yousef et al 2014a , b ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lower COVID-19 mortality in Italian forested areas suggests immunoprotection by Mediterranean plants

Roviello

2020

Environ Chem Lett

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The COVID-19 pandemic has induced dramatic effects on the population of the industrialized north of Italy, whereas it has not heavily affected inhabitants of the southern regions. This might be explained in part by human exposure to high levels of fine particulate matter (PM) in the air of northern Italy, thus exacerbating the mortality. Since trees mitigate air pollution by intercepting PM onto plant surfaces and bolster the human immune system by emitting bioactive volatile organic compounds (VOCs), we hypothesize a protective role of evergreen forested areas in southern Italy. We compared the mortality rate due to COVID-19, the death number, the positivity rate and the forest coverage per capita in various Italian regions. Hectares of forest per capita and prevalence of deciduous versus evergreen forestal species were also estimated. In silico docking studies of potentially protective compounds found in Laurus nobilis L., a typical Mediterranean plant, were performed to search for potential antivirals. We found that the pandemic's severity was generally lower in southern regions, especially those with more than 0.3 hectares of forest per capita. The lowest mortality rates were found in southern Italy, mainly in regions like Molise (0.007%) and Basilicata (0.005%) where the forest per capita ratio is higher than 0.5 Ha/person. Our findings suggest that evergreen Mediterranean forests and shrubland plants could have protected the southern population by emission of immunomodulating VOCs and provision of dietary sources of bioactive compounds. Moreover, in silico studies revealed a potential anti-COVID-19 activity in laurusides, which are unexplored glycosides from bay laurel. Overall, our results highlight the importance of nature conservation and applications to the search for natural antivirals.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lower COVID-19 mortality in Italian forested areas suggests immunoprotection by Mediterranean plants

Roviello

2020

Environ Chem Lett

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Primary Screening of Antiviral Potential of Quercus ilex (Wood) Extract Against BVDV: A Pestivirus Model of Hepatitis C Virus

Cited by 1 publication

References 21 publications

Lower COVID-19 mortality in Italian forested areas suggests immunoprotection by Mediterranean plants

Lower COVID-19 mortality in Italian forested areas suggests immunoprotection by Mediterranean plants

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