ABSTRACT
Herbal plant extracts or purified phytocomponents have been extensively used to treat several diseases since ancient times. The Indian Ayurvedic system and Chinese traditional medicines have documented the medicinal properties of important herbs. In Ayurveda, the polyherbal formulation is known to exhibit better therapeutic efficacy compared to a single herb. This review focuses on six key ayurvedic herbal plants namely, Tinospora cordifolia, Withania somnifera, Glycyrrhiza glabra/Licorice, Zingiber officinale, Emblica officinalis and Ocimum sanctum. These plants possess specific phytocomponents that aid them in fighting infections and keeping body healthy and stress-free. Plants were selected due to their reported antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory effects in several diseases and effectiveness in controlling viral pathogenesis. An ad-vanced literature search was carried out using Pubmed and google scholar. Result(s): These medicinal plants are known to exhibit several protective features against various diseases or infections. Here we have particularly emphasized on antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial and immunomodulatory properties which are common in these six plants. Recent literature analysis has revealed Ashwagandha to be protective for Covid-19 too. The formulation from such herbs can exhibit synergism and hence better effectiveness against infection and related dis-eases. The importance of these medicinal herbs becomes highly prominent as it maintains the har-monious balance by way of boosting the immunity in a human body. Further, greater mechanistic analyses are required to prove their efficacy in fighting infectious diseases like Covid-19. It opens the arena for in-depth research of identifying and isolating the active components from these herbs and evaluating their potency to inhibit viral infections as polyherbal formulations.Copyright © 2023 Bentham Science Publishers.
ABSTRACT
Green tea catechin compounds (Camellia sinensis L. Kuntze) have an antiviral activity such as influenza, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, herpes simplex virus, HIV, and proven in vitro antiviral influenza against NSP5 in SARS CoV. These considerations are used in this study using Non-structural Protein (NSP), namely NSP3 and NSP5 in SARS CoV-2, which have a role in viral replication and transcription. This study aims to predict the physicochemical properties according to the five rules of Lipinski's using swissADME. Prediction of toxicity with LD50 classification using the Protox II online tool. Catechin compound activity based on ligand interaction with NSP3 (PDB ID: 6W6Y) and NSP5 (PDB ID: 6M2N) receptors using Molegro Virtual Docker (MVD) 6.0. The results showed the predictions of physicochemical properties of the (-)-epigallocatechin (EGC), (-)-epicatechin-3-gallate (ECG), and (-)-epicatechin (EC) compounds fulfilled the five rules of Lipinski's. Catechin compounds have toxicity at levels 4 and 6. The activity of catechin compounds on NSP3 (PDB ID: 6W6Y) and NSP5 (PDB ID: 6M2N) receptors indicated that all catechin compounds had inhibitory activity. The best potential activity compound is (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) with a rerank score of-102.8200 and-134.1800 Kcal/mol so EGCG can be recommended as a candidate for the SARS CoV-2 antiviral compound. © 2022, Universitas Gadjah Mada - Faculty of Pharmacy. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
Tea is the second-most drank and refreshing beverage after water since the time immemorial. Tea harbours more than 4000 bioactive compounds viz, different classes of polyphenols, unique amino acid L-Theanine, alkaloids (Caffeine, Theobromine), and Volatile Flavor Compounds (VFC). Tea's polyphenols make its inherent therapeutic potential unlimited. Tea's significance in managing cancer, diabetes, stomach ulcer, influenza, neurological diseases, etc. is well-documented. However, advantageous biochemical capabilities of tea have yet to be fully utilised. Hence, this review aims at to examine tea's variety, drinking habits, biochemistry, and therapeutic qualities. A number of significant online resources, including Google Scholar, PubMed, Science Direct, and others, were searched for various research works on tea and its health-promoting qualities by using keywords like tea, health benefits, bioactive components against diseases, etc. Current review highlighted that drinking a cup or more green tea is recommended for improving antioxidant status and to manage diabetes and obesity related problem. However after detailed review work on tea it become clear that not only green tea but also other varies of tea like black, white tea are also harbour lots of bioactive molecules since they are processed from same plant. Tea improves antioxidant status and manages diabetes and obesity. It also helps prevent and cure, heart disease, malignancy, digestive dysfunction, and metabolic disorders including obesity and diabetes. Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG), found in tea, has been shown to reduce complications from Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV 2) infection. When taken in its traditional form to manage ailments, tea is sometimes controversial due to a lack of confirming evidence of its benefits. The paper covers the numerous health advantages of tea, focusing on the specific components contributing to such benefits, and stresses the value of diverse brewing processes.
ABSTRACT
Background: The recent outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has raised a global health concern due to the unavailability of any vaccines or drugs. The repurposing of traditional herbs with broad-spectrum anti-viral activity can be explored to control or prevent a pandemic. Objective(s): The 3-chymotrypsin-like main protease (3CLpro), also referred to as the "Achilles' heel" of the coronaviruses (CoVs), is highly conserved among CoVs and is a potential drug target. 3CLpro is essential for the virus' life cycle. The objective of the study was to screen and identify broad--spectrum natural phytoconstituents against the conserved active site and substrate-binding site of 3CLpro of HCoVs. Method(s): Herein, we applied the computational strategy based on molecular docking to identify potential phytoconstituents for the non-covalent inhibition of the main protease 3CLpro from four different CoVs, namely, SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV, HCoV-HKU1, and HCoV-229E. Result(s): Our study shows that natural phytoconstituents in Triphala (a blend of Emblica officinalis fruit, Terminalia bellerica fruit, and Terminalia chebula fruit), namely chebulagic acid, chebulinic acid, and elagic acid, exhibited the highest binding affinity and lowest dissociation constants (Ki), against the conserved 3CLpro main protease of SARSCoV-2, SARS-CoV, HCoV-HKU1, and HCoV-229E. Besides, phytoconstituents of other herbs like Withania somnifera, Glycyrrhiza glabra, Hyssopus officinalis, Camellia sinensis, Prunella vulgaris, and Ocimum sanctum also showed good binding affinity and lower Ki against the active site of 3CLpro. The top-ranking phyto-constituents' binding interactions clearly showed strong and stable interactions with amino acid residues in the catalytic dyad (CYS-HIS) and substrate-binding pocket of the 3CLpro main proteases. Conclusion(s): This study provides a valuable scaffold for repurposing traditional herbs with anti--CoV activity to combat SARS-CoV-2 and other HCoVs until the discovery of new therapies.Copyright © 2021 Bentham Science Publishers.
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Background: Infectious diseases have posed a major threat to human survival for centu-ries and can devastate entire populations. Recently, the global outbreak of COVID-19 has increased exponentially, affecting more than 200 countries and millions of lives since the fall of 2019, largely due to the ineffectiveness of existing antiviral therapies. WHO announced it a public health emer-gency of international concern. A significant waiting period in antiviral therapy hindered by the rapid evolution of severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 aggravated the situation ensuing imposition of strict laws (e.g., communal dissociation, international travel restrictions, and mainte-nance of hygiene) that would help in inhibiting further outspread of COVID-19. Ayurveda system of medicine offers a holistic approach to the COVID-19 pandemic. Objective(s): This review aims to highlight the potential of medicinal herbs and Ayurvedic drugs as the remedial approach for viral diseases, such as COVID-19. Method(s): We reviewed the literature from journal publication websites and electronic databases, such as Bentham, Science Direct, Pub Med, Scopus, USFDA, etc. Result(s): The drugs used in the traditional system of medicine have the potential to prevent and cure the infected patient. Ayurvedic therapies are known for regulating immunity and rejuvenation properties that behold much promise in the management of COVID-19 disease. Government of India, Ministry of AYUSH recommends some precautionary fitness measures and an increase in immunity with special reference to respiratory health. Conclusion(s): While there is no medication for COVID-19 as of now, taking preventive measures and boosting body immunity is highly recommended. A number of medicinal plants that play an im-portant role in revitalizing the immune system are easily accessible in home remedies.Copyright © 2023 Bentham Science Publishers.
ABSTRACT
Tea ingredients can effectively inhibit SARS-CoV-2 infection at adequate concentrations. It is not known whether tea intake could impact the susceptibility to COVID-19 or its severity. We aimed to evaluate the causal effects of tea intake on COVID-19 outcomes. We performed Mendelian randomization (MR) analyses to assess the causal associations between tea intake (N = 441,279) and three COVID-19 outcomes, including SARS-CoV-2 infection (122,616 cases and 2,475,240 controls), hospitalized COVID-19 (32,519 cases and 2,062,805 controls), and critical COVID-19 (13,769 cases and 1,072,442 controls). The MR analyses indicated that genetic propensity for tea consumption conferred a negative causal effect on the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection (OR: 0.87, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.78-0.97, P = 0.015). No causal effects on hospitalized COVID-19 (0.84, 0.64-1.10, P = 0.201) or critical COVID-19 (0.73, 0.51-1.03, P = 0.074) were detected. Our study revealed that tea intake could decrease the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection, highlighting the potential preventive effect of tea consumption on COVID-19 transmission.
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Background: Tea (green or black) are among the most widely consumed beverages in adults worldwide. Recently, numerous studies claimed that green tea intake have been associated with reduced mortality, including cardiovascular disease related mortality. This study was aimed to investigate the association between green tea consumption with cardiovascular related mortality. Subjects and Method: This was a systematic review and meta-analysis study used articles which published in 2000 to 2021 from online databases, such as PubMed, ResearchGate, Science Direct, Google Scholar, and EBSCO. The dependent variable was cardiovascular related mortality. The independent variables was green tea consumption. The data was analyzed by RevMan 5.3 software. This study used the eligibility criteria with the PICO model, populations: COVID-19 general adults, intervention: >1 cups green tea consumption. comparison: null or <1 cup green tea consumption, outcome: cardiovascular related mortality. The inclusion criteria were an article describing the effect or relationship of green tea consumption with cardiovascular related mortality, original research, and study of cohort contain effect size of hazard ratio and match with the intervention design. The keywords used to search the database were "green tea" AND "cardiovascular" AND "mortality" OR "Death" AND cohort.
ABSTRACT
The molecular constituents of Camellia sinensis, in particular epigallocatechin-3-O-gallate (EGCG) and, more remarkably, the galloylated theaflavins, mainly theaflavin-3,3'-di-O-gallate (TF-3,3'-DG), have been reported to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 3-chymotrypsin-like protease (3CLpro), an enzyme required for the cleavage of its polyproteins, to produce vital individual functional proteins for viral cell replication. Our results for total catechin content revealed the values of 174.72, 200.90, and 211.75 mg/g dry weight (DW) in spring, and the values of 183.59, 191.36, and 215.09 mg/g DW in summer, for tea plantation zones 1, 2, and 3, respectively. For the TF-3,3'-DG content, the values of 2.68, 1.13, and 3.72 mg/g DW were observed in spring, and the values of 3.78, 2.06, and 8.91 mg/g DW in summer for zones 1, 2, and 3, respectively. In the same zone, different contents of TF-3,3'-DG were observed across plucking months of April, June, and August, with values of 1.13, 2.77, and 4.18 mg/g DW, respectively, showing higher values in summer. Different values of TF-3,3'-DG contents were also observed in the same tea plantation zone but from different plant parts, revealing higher values in the bud and the first and second leaves (3.62 mg/g DW) and lower values in the third and fourth leaves (1.14 mg/g DW). The TF-3,3'-DG content increased from 3.31 to 4.98 mg/g DW with increased fermentation time from 1 to 3 h, respectively, and increased for lower temperature and longer fermentation time. The aim of this study was to investigate the processing conditions that lead to maximum TF-3,3'-DG content and, given its potential impact as an inhibitor of the 3CLpro enzyme, to create a novel antiviral Azorean black tea.
ABSTRACT
This proceedings contains 13 papers focusing on the effect of green tea extract in modulating the antibacterial activity of standard antibiotics against clinical isolates of Acinetobacter baumannii, in silico screening of Ziziphus spina-christi and Strychnos ligustrine compounds as a proteinase inhibitor of SARS-COV-2, antioxidant and antifungal propterties of palu shallot (Allium ascalonicum var. aggregatum), probiotic properties and safety of lactic acid bactera isolated from South Sulawesi ethnic cheese, pharmacognostics of 2 Orthoshipon aristatus varieties and effect of honey consumption after physical exercises on electrolytes and blood sugar levels, among others.
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Background: Since the beginning of medical history, plants have been exemplary sources of a variety of pharmacological compounds that are still used in modern medication. Respiratory infections are a serious and persistent global health problem, most acute and chronic respiratory infections are caused by viruses, whose ability to mutate rapidly may result in epidemics and pandemics, as seen recently with MERS-COV (2012) and SARS-COV-2 (2019), the latter causing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Methods: This study aims to highlight the tremendous benefits of plants that have been widely used as dietary supplements or traditional treatment for various respiratory infections, with a focus on the most effective constituents and studies that revealed their activities against COVID-19. Results: Several traditional plants and their phytoconstituents have shown activity against respiratory viruses, including SARS-COV-2. The presented plants are Nigella sativa, Punica granatum, Panax ginseng, Withania somnifera, Glycyrrhiza glabra, Curcuma longa, Zingiber officinale, Camellia sinensis, Echinacea purpurea, Strobilanthes cusia, Stephania tetrandra, and genus Sambucus. Conclusion: The data discussed in this review can encourage carrying out in-vivo studies that may help in the discovery of herbal leads that can be feasibly used to alleviate, prevent or treat COVID-19 infection.
ABSTRACT
(1) Background: beverages based on extracts from Camellia sinensis are popular worldwide. Due to an increasing number of processed teas on the market, there is a need to develop unified classification standards based on chemical analysis. Meanwhile, phytochemical characterizations are mainly performed on tea samples from China (~80%). Hence, data on teas of other provenances is recommended. (2) Methods: in the present investigation, we characterized lyophilised extracts obtained by infusion, maceration and methanolic extraction derived from tea samples from China, Japan, Sri Lanka and Portugal by phytochemistry (catechins, oxyaromatic acids, flavonols, alkaloids and theanine). The real benefits of drinking the tea were analysed based on the bioavailability of the determined phytochemicals. (3) Results: the infusions revealed the highest total phenolic contents (TPC) amounts, while methanolic extracts yielded the lowest. The correlation matrix indicated that the levels of phenolic compounds were similar in the infusions and methanolic samples, while extractions made by maceration were significantly different. The differences could be partially explained by the different amounts of (-)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), (-)-epicatechin gallate (ECG) and gallic acids (GA). The catechin percentages were significantly lower in the macerations, especially the quantity of EGCG decreases by 4- to 5-fold after this process. (4) Conclusions: the results highlight the importance of the processing methodology to obtain “instant tea”;the composition of the extracts obtained with the same methodology is not significantly affected by the provenance of the tea. However, attention should be drawn to the specificities of the Japanese samples (the tea analysed in the present work was of Sencha quality). In contrast, the extraction methodology significantly affects the phytochemical composition, especially concerning the content of polyphenols. As such, our results indicate that instant tea classification based on chemical composition is sensible, but there is a need for a standard extraction methodology, namely concerning the temperature and time of contact of the tea leaves with the extraction solvent.
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This article creatively presents a framework of conducting expressive arts therapy online during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim is to help people tap into the four modes of being through multimodal arts to respond to the alienation in each of them due to the pandemic. Tea, which has similarities with watercolour but is more natural and easily accessible, serves as the core art material in the creative process. This article includes experience of the participants who voluntarily joined a one-off online workshop, giving a clearer picture of the therapeutic process and changes. The relevance of tea to the four modes of being is discussed, and the ways in which the framework can be implemented are explored.
ABSTRACT
Coronaviruses caused an outbreak pandemic disease characterized by a severe acute respiratory distress syndrome leading to the infection of more than 200 million patients and the death of more than 4 million individuals. The primary treatment is either supportive or symptomatic. Natural products have an important role in the development of various drugs. Thus, screening of natural compounds with reported antiviral activities can lead to the discovery of potential inhibitory entities against coronaviruses. In the current study, an in-silico molecular docking experiment was conducted on the effects of some of these natural antiviral phytoconstituents, (e.g., procyanidin B2, theaflavin, quercetin, ellagic acid, caffeoylquinic acid derivatives, berginin, eudesm-1 beta, 6 alpha, 11-triol and arbutin), on the crystal structure of SARS-CoV-2 main protease (PDB ID: 6w63) using AutoDock-Vina software. Many of the docked compounds revealed good binding affinity, with procyanidin B2 (-8.6 Kcal/mol) and theaflavin (-8.5 Kcal/mol) showing a better or similar binding score as the ligand (-8.5 Kcal/mol). Molecular dynamics simulations were carried out at 100 ns and revealed that procyanidin B2 forms a more stable complex with SARS-CoV-2 main protease than theaflavin. Procyanidin B2, theaflavin, and 4,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid were evaluated for toxicity by ProTox-II webserver and were non-toxic according to the predicted LD50 values and safe on different organs and pathways. Additionally, these phytoconstituents showed good ADME properties and acceptable lipophilicity, as evaluated using WLOGP. Amongst the tested compounds, procyanidin B2 showed the highest lipophilic value. It is worth mentioning that these natural inhibitiors of SARS-CoV-2 main protease are components of green and black tea that can be used as a supporting supplement for COVID patients or as potential nuclei for further drug design and development campaigns.
ABSTRACT
Coronavirus diseases, especially infections in the context of the current Covid-19 pandemic, currently make up most of the medical work in the private practice area of internal medicine and general medicine. There is a therapeutic dilemma as to which strategies are successful in prevention and treatment. Regardless of this, therapies for prophylaxis and treatment of infections using strategies from phytotherapy are hardly considered in the general hectic pace. Protective but still experimental strategies suggest that a blockade of specific viral adhesion factors by natural substances can change the viral entry point. This could significantly change both the docking behavior of the virus particles and the disposition to disease. From the field of natural substances, there are many plants that contain a large amount of tannins. These secondary phytonutrients contain so-called proanthocyanidins, hydrolyzable tannins and lamiacene tannins. In particular, proanthocyanidins (green tea, sorrel herb, rockrose herb, etc.) occur frequently in medicinal plants and can be used for prophylaxis and, if necessary, therapy, so that the use of highly concentrated tannin extracts in local therapy can significantly inhibit the docking behavior of viruses. With this knowledge, 125 patients have been in a family doctor's practice (male=68, female=57, average age 54.6 years;diseases: hypertension, osteoarthritis, type 2 diabetes mellitus, etc.) since February 2020 for a period of at least 6 weeks treated (Cystus 052 organic throat lozenges 3 x 2, Nisita nasal ointment 2 x daily). Patients were regularly checked clinically using laboratory tests. This collective could be subdivided into a prophylactic group (n=81) of fewer and into a group of highly endangered (n=44) patients (medical staff, nursing staff, fire fighters, rescue services, etc.). In addition to regular temperature measurements by the patients themselves, but also by means of laboratory parameters (blood count, CRP, procalcitonin, etc.), the mode of infection (if infection occurred: yes-no) was checked regularly.
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Living conditions in Turkey has been changed considerably during Covid-19 pandemic. This phase has changed people's normal lives, habits such as eating, resting, and shopping and pushed them to different pursuits. This study aimed to obtain data on the consumption preferences of medicinal and aromatic plants. The survey was conducted in the autumn of 2020. Choices and health services that are effective in the consumption of Medicinal and Aromatic Plant (MAP) of consumers are estimated by statistics and logit regression model to the data obtained from the surveys. It was determined that the coronavirus pandemic increased the consumption of medicinal and aromatic plants by 76%. The plants with the highest consumption during the pandemic were recorded as rosehip, linden, mint, and ginger. Green tea and udihindi were the most consumed medicinal and aromatic plants per month. According to logit regression analysis results;age, duration of use, price, benefit, side effect, access to the chemical, additive, and hope variables increased the consumption of medicinal and aromatic plants and the likelihood of purchasing during the pandemic. It is thought that consumption of MAPs will become widespread and increase during the pandemic.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Previous studies suggest that major Camellia sinensis (tea) catechins can inhibit 3-chymotrypsin-like cysteine protease (3CLpro), inspiring us to study 3CLpro inhibition of the recently discovered catechins from tea by our group. METHODS: Autodock was used to dock 3CLpro and 16 tea catechins. Further, a 3CLpro activity detection system was used to test their intra and extra cellular 3CLpro inhibitory activity. Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) was used to analyze the dissociation constant (KD) between the catechins and 3CLpro. RESULTS: Docking data suggested that 3CLpro interacted with the selected 16 catechins with low binding energy through the key amino acid residues Thr24, Thr26, Asn142, Gly143, His163, and Gln189. The selected catechins other than zijuanin D (3) and (-)-8-(5''R)-N-ethyl-2-pyrrolidinone-3-O-cinnamoylepicatechin (11) can inhibit 3CLpro intracellularly. The extracellular 3CLpro IC50 values of (-)-epicatechin 3-O-caffeoate (EC-C, 1), zijuanin C (2), etc-pyrrolidinone C and D (6), etc-pyrrolidinone A (9), (+)-gallocatechin gallate (GCG), and (-)-epicatechin gallate (ECG) are 1.58 ± 0.21, 41.2 ± 3.56, 0.90 ± 0.03, 46.71 ± 10.50, 3.38 ± 0.48, and 71.78 ± 8.36 µM, respectively. The KD values of 1, 6, and GCG are 4.29, 3.46, and 3.36 µM, respectively. CONCLUSION: Together, EC-C (1), etc-pyrrolidinone C and D (6), and GCG are strong 3CLpro inhibitors. Our results suggest that structural modification of catechins could be conducted by esterificating the 3-OH as well as changing the configuration of C-3, C-3''' or C-5''' to discover strong SARS-CoV-2 inhibitors.