Phytomedicines for Covid-19: Opportunities and Obstacles

COVID-19 is a disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 that can trigger respiratory tract infection. Due to its tendency to affect the upper respiratory tract (sinuses, nose and throat) or lower respiratory tract (windpipe and lungs), this disease is life-threatening and affects a large number of populations. This virus's unique and complex nature enhances the scope to look into the direction of herbal plants and their constituents for its prevention and treatment. The herbal remedies can have preventive as well as therapeutic actions. This review focuses on various aspects of using herbal medicines for COVID-19, as herbal constituents may also have adverse effects. Various studies revealed that some medicinal plants show life-threatening adverse effects, so selecting plants, and their related studies should be appropriate and strategic. This article includes various factors that should be considered before herbal drug use in COVID-19 patients. These are clinical trials, safety, molecular mechanism, and self-medication, which have been elaborated. This article also discusses the targets of covid-19 and different coronavirus strains. As before, treatment diagnosis of the disease is very important. Various patents have been filed and granted for its proper diagnosis so that its treatment can be easy.Copyright © 2022 Society of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research. All rights reserved.

In Silico Studies of Phytoconstituents from Piper longum and Ocimum sanctum as ACE2 and TMRSS2 Inhibitors: Strategies to Combat COVID-19.

The recent pandemic due to the COVID-19 virus has caused a global catastrophe. ACE2 and TMPRSS2 are recognized as key targets for viral entry into the host cells. The pandemic has led to the utilization of many synthetic drugs; however, due to various side effects, there is still no effective drug available against the virus. Several natural approaches have been devised, including herbal and ayurvedic medicines, that have proven to be effective against the COVID-19 virus. In the present study, the effect of phytocompounds of Piper longum and Ocimum sanctum on ACE2 and TRMPSS2 proteins has been studied. The in silico study is done using computational tools of networks of protein-protein interaction, molecular docking, and drug assessment in terms of physicochemical properties, drug-likeness, lipophilicity, water solubility, and pharmacokinetics. Out of selected phytoconstituents, vicenin 2, rosmarinic acid, and orientin were found to have the highest efficacy in terms of molecular interaction and drug-likeness properties against ACE2 and TMPRSS2 host receptor proteins. Our in silico study proposes the therapeutic potential of phytocompounds from Piper longum and Ocimum sanctum in modulating ACE2 and TMPRSS2 expression. Targeting ACE2 and TMPRSS2 against the SARS-CoV2 by phytomolecules can serve as a rational approach for designing future anti-COVID drugs.

Long COVID: Clinical Framing, Biomarkers, and Therapeutic Approaches.

More than two years after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare providers are facing an emergency within an emergency, the so-called long COVID or post-COVID-19 syndrome (PCS). Patients diagnosed with PCS develop an extended range of persistent symptoms and/or complications from COVID-19. The risk factors and clinical manifestations are many and various. Advanced age, sex/gender, and pre-existing conditions certainly influence the pathogenesis and course of this syndrome. However, the absence of precise diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers may further complicate the clinical management of patients. This review aimed to summarize recent evidence on the factors influencing PCS, possible biomarkers, and therapeutic approaches. Older patients recovered approximately one month earlier than younger patients, with higher rates of symptoms. Fatigue during the acute phase of COVID-19 appears to be an important risk factor for symptom persistence. Female sex, older age, and active smoking are associated with a higher risk of developing PCS. The incidence of cognitive decline and the risk of death are higher in PCS patients than in controls. Complementary and alternative medicine appears to be associated with improvement in symptoms, particularly fatigue. The heterogeneous nature of post-COVID symptoms and the complexity of patients with PCS, who are often polytreated due to concomitant clinical conditions, suggest a holistic and integrated approach to provide useful guidance for the treatment and overall management of long COVID.

Flavonoids as potential phytotherapeutics to combat cytokine storm in SARS-CoV-2.

Emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, COVID-19, has become the global panic since December 2019, which urges the global healthcare professionals to identify novel therapeutics to counteract this pandemic. So far, there is no approved treatment available to control this public health issue; however, a few antiviral agents and repurposed drugs support the patients under medical supervision by compromising their adverse effects, especially in emergency conditions. Only a few vaccines have been approved to date. In this context, several plant natural products-based research studies are evidenced to play a crucial role in immunomodulation that can prevent the chances of infection as well as combat the cytokine release storm (CRS) generated during COVID-19 infection. In this present review, we have focused on flavonoids, especially epicatechin, epigallocatechin gallate, hesperidin, naringenin, quercetin, rutin, luteolin, baicalin, diosmin, ge nistein, biochanin A, and silymarin, which can counteract the virus-mediated elevated levels of inflammatory cytokines leading to multiple organ failure. In addition, a comprehensive discussion on available in silico, in vitro, and in vivo findings with critical analysis has also been evaluated, which might pave the way for further development of phytotherapeutics to identify the potential lead candidatetoward effective and safe management of the SARS-CoV-2 disease.

Phytotherapy for treatment of cytokine storm in COVID-19.

In 2020, a novel strain of coronavirus (COVID-19) has led to a significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. As of the date of this writing, a total of 116 M cases has been diagnosed worldwide leading to 2.5 M deaths. The number of mortalities is directly correlated with the rise of innate immune cells (especially macrophages) in the lungs that secrete inflammatory cytokines (IL-1ß and IL-6) leading to the development of "Cytokine Storm Syndrome" (CSS), multi-organ-failure and death. Given that currently the treatment of this condition is rare and release of effective vaccine might be months away, here, we review the plants and their pharmacologically active-compounds as potential phytopharmaceuticals for the virus induced inflammatory response. Experimental validation of the effectiveness of these natural compounds to prevent or reduce the cytokine storm might be beneficial as an adjunct treatment of SARS-CoV-2.