ABSTRACT
Fritillaria naturally grows in the temperate region of Northern Hemisphere and mainly distributes in Central Asia, Mediterranean region, and North America. The dried bulbs from a dozen species of this genus have been usually used as herbal medicine, named Beimu in China. Beimu had rich sources of phytochemicals and have extensively applied to respiratory diseases including coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Fritillaria species have alkaloids that act as the main active components that contribute multiple biological activities, including anti-tussive, expectorant, and anti-asthmatic effects, especially against certain respiratory diseases. Other compounds (terpenoids, steroidal saponins, and phenylpropanoids) have also been identified in species of Fritillaria. In this review, readers will discover a brief summary of traditional uses and a comprehensive description of the chemical profiles, biological properties, and analytical techniques used for quality control. In general, the detailed summary reveals 293 specialized metabolites that have been isolated and analyzed in Fritillaria species. This review may provide a scientific basis for the chemical ecology and metabolomics in which compound identification of certain species remains a limiting step.
ABSTRACT
As of May 5, 2020, the number of confirmed coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases has been more than 3.5 million with 243,540 deaths. We aimed to determine the associations between ageing population, median age, life expectancy at birth and COVID-19 mortality. The numbers of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the European region were obtained from the World Health Organization database. The data on percentage of the population aged 65 and over, median age and life expectancy at birth were extracted from the World Factbook of Central Intelligence Agency. A total of 56 countries/areas in the Europe reported COVID-19 cases and deaths (1,121,853 cases and 100,938 deaths) on April 20, 2020. The results showed significant positive associations between COVID-19 mortality and ageing population (r =0.274; P =0.021), median age (r =0.255; P=0.029), male median age (r =0.284; P =0.017), female median age (r =0.224; P=0.049), life expectancy at birth (r =0.336; P=0.006), male life expectancy at birth (r =0.342; P=0.005), female life expectancy at birth (r =0.312; P=0.01) in the 56 European countries/areas. This study illustrated that COVID-19 mortality was positively associated with ageing population, median age, and life expectancy at birth.