ABSTRACT
Introduction: Cordyceps, a popular Chinese medication, is made by drying caterpillar-borne Cordyceps fungus. The parasite needs an insect host or larvae host to survive. To strengthen those who were lacking in vitality, it was administered in tonic form. The biological effects of Cordyceps species are well documented. Its medicinal properties are because of the chemical constituents present in the mushroom namely cordycepin, cordymin, polysaccharides, glycoprotein, ergosterol, and other extracts. Material(s) and Method(s): Some of the biological activities of C.militaris are anti-cancer, anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-aging, immunomodulatory, antimicrobials, immunosuppressive, hypolipidemic, hypoglycemic, neuroprotective, and fertility enhancer. Because of their bioactive compounds, edible fungus like C. militaris is a multifunctional food supplement. Many mushroom species can be grown on domestic refuse, popularizing the mushroom industry in sustainable economies worldwide. Conclusion(s): C. militaris extract can improve health when added to the diet. Further, the complexity of clinical investigations and the challenges of developing therapies using mushroom extracts are both exacerbated by the abundance of bioactive chemicals present in mushrooms. Cordycepin has the most therapeutic potential of all the bioactive compounds described in the studies. Recent studies indicate that cordycepin may be effective against COVID-19's SARS-CoV-2 strain. Therefore, this review lays the groundwork for clinical use and examines the research program for the near future.Copyright © 2023 The Author(s)
ABSTRACT
Viruses are obligate intracellular parasites, and infections may lead to mortalities. The outbreaks of several viral infections during the twentieth century increased the demand for both conventional and nonconventional types of antiviral treatments. The recent lethal impact of the coronavirus has increased the scientific investigations into the quest for potent antiviral therapeutics. Many new antiviral drugs approved by FDA have been exploited for the treatment of viral infections. However, owing to the limitations of synthetic antiviral drugs, new technologies have paved the way in an attempt to discover antiviral drugs that can overcome the drug resistance and low bioavailability issues. Green nanoscience offers the potential advantage of designing novel, biocompatible and viral-targeted specific antiviral drugs. Plants, algae, fungi, and bacteria are the preferable greener choices for the synthesis of green antiviral nanomaterials. This chapter summarizes the green antiviral nanomaterials synthesized over the past 5years (2016-21) and surprisingly has found very limited information on the green nanomaterials screened as antiviral agents and their specific modes of the antiviral mechanism. Scientific investigations available regarding green antiviral nanomaterials are restricted to in vitro systems, which demands the translation of these active antiviral nanomaterials into in vivo clinical practice. © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
Since the outbreak of the new coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19) in December 2019, it has caused millions of deaths in more than 200 countries all over the world, and the global economic development has been severely impacted. Concerning the new type of coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) that caused the epidemic, scientific research has been actively carried out around the world as well as various prevention and control measures, which made important contribution to protect human health. However, as one of the countries that made outstanding achievements in the prevention and control of the epidemic, there were some regional epidemics of “object-to-human transmission” and then “human-to-human transmission ” occurred after June 2020, indicating the complexity of the spread of SARS-CoV-2. In addition, the development of COVID-19 in some contraries is going uncontrollable recently, and infection cases of the SARS-CoV-2 variant strain have appeared in many countries, which made the prevention and control of the epidemic more difficult. This article briefly reviewed the updated research works on SARS-CoV-2, including possible sources of virus and infection mechanisms, diagnosis and treatment approaches, transmission characteristics and environmental impact, etc. In particular, the environmental factors affecting the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 are summarized in order to enhance the understanding of environmental transmission of SARS-CoV-2. © 2021, Science Press. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
COVID-19 has spread globally to over 200 countries with more than 40 million confirmed cases and one million deaths as of November 1, 2020. The SARS-CoV-2 virus, leading to COVID-19, shows extremely high rates of infectivity and replication, and can result in pneumonia, acute respiratory distress, or even mortality. SARS-CoV-2 has been found to continue to rapidly evolve, with several genomic variants emerging in different regions throughout the world. In addition, despite intensive study of the spike protein, its origin, and molecular mechanisms in mediating host invasion are still only partially resolved. Finally, the repertoire of drugs for COVID-19 treatment is still limited, with several candidates still under clinical trial and no effective therapeutic yet reported. Although vaccines based on either DNA/mRNA or protein have been deployed, their efficacy against emerging variants requires ongoing study, with multivalent vaccines supplanting the first-generation vaccines due to their low efficacy against new strains. Here, we provide a systematic review of studies on the epidemiology, immunological pathogenesis, molecular mechanisms, and structural biology, as well as approaches for drug or vaccine development for SARS-CoV-2.