Effect of coronavirus (COVID-19) on production of spices and its economy in Bangladesh

Coronavirus was detected in Bangladesh first time on March 8, 2020 officially. But Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), first reported in December 2019 from Wuhan in China, had reached the stage of a pandemic. This study was conducted to know the effects of spices against Covid-19 disease, impact of Covid-19 on agro-economy of spices crop and point out of mitigating of spices problem in Bangladesh. Major production of spices was severely affected, causing raw material shortages to the spice production of Bangladesh. Major for spices crop problem were shortages caused by the migration of the workforce due to lockdown. Continuing operation on the industry floor, in the midst of social distancing, and ensuring safety of the spices production, was also a major issue. Although the entire sectors were hit by the economic disruptions, the small-scale spice producers and processors most severely affected. The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and the prolonged lockdown have made thousands of farmers, labours and traders feel the pinch of a falling spices yield and sale. Increased production cost of onion, chilli, garlic, ginger, turmeric, coriander and black cumin due to Covid-19 situation over normal situation were 10.33, 9.54, 9.04, 11.46, 9.58, 6.21 and 7.21%, respectively. Market price of onion, chilli, garlic, ginger, turmeric, coriander and black cumin were also increased 5.00, 3.90, 1.39, 3.13, 1.40, 1.25 and 2.67 times, respectively, due to the influence of Covid-19.

Growth acceleration/deceleration in Indian spices economy

The consumption of spices is growing in India with an increase in purchasing power. It is forecasted that everyone in the country would be consuming one spice or the other with a high per capita consumption. It is estimated that we may have a population of around 1.69 billion people during 2050 and approximately the per capita consumption of turmeric, ginger, black pepper and cardamom is expected to be about 1.6 kg, 1.2 kg, 148 g and 54 g, respectively. This may increase further owing to rapid urbanization which needs spices as natural food preservatives. Hence, the present study was conducted to analyze the growth trend in spices economy of India during the period 1990-91 to 2021-22 with reference to the selected growth indicators such as area, production, domestic market, export and export value. For estimating the acceleration in the growth rates, the paper uses semi-logarithmic specification of a non-linear (quadratic) equation. From the analysis, it is observed that there is a huge scope for output and export of spices. Despite the Covid pandemic, spices export from India has continued its upward trend during 2020-21 and has attained an all-time high of US $ 4.0 billion mark for the first time in the history of spices export. It also implies that there is strong domestic market for spices in India.

Ayurvedic Herbs and Spices: A Promising Approach for the Treatment of COVID-19

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a novel coronavirus accountable for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) that has led to many fatal cases worldwide. It causes a severe acute respiratory syndrome, a hyperinflammatory response, vascular damage, mi-croangiopathy, and widespread thrombosis. Vaccines, interferon therapies, and small-molecule drugs may be among the various alternatives for managing or preventing emerging SARS-CoV-2 infections. New interventions, on the other hand, are likely to take months to years to develop. Furthermore, existing antiviral agents commonly develop viral resistance along with certain side effects. Therefore, effective prevention and treatment medications without side effects against human coronavirus are urgently needed. Indian and Chinese traditional medicine have suggested some natural products for the prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation of the diseases, including COVID-19 and various herbs and mushrooms that have been reported to possess potential antiviral and anti-inflammatory activities. Therefore, in this pandemic, traditional medicines pose a ray of hope for human health. The Ministry of Ayush, India, has also recommended a number of therapies to increase immunity in addition to ayurvedic treatments. Thus, the probability of naturally occurring substances as successful treatments against COVID-19 may seem hopeful due to their diverse biological and therapeutic properties. This review focuses on the latest updates of Ayurvedic herbs and spices as promising approaches for treatment during this devastating pandemic situation.Copyright © 2023 Bentham Science Publishers.

In Silico Identification of Potential Inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 Papain-like Protease From Natural Sources: A Natural Weapon to Fight COVID-19

Background: The rapid spread of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) globally has created unprecedented health care and economic crisis. The ever-in-creasing death toll highlights an urgent need for the development of specific antiviral to combat Novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Objective(s): In the present study, we aimed to identify potential SARS-CoV-2 papain-like protease inhibitors from regularly used spices. Method(s): A structure-based virtual screening (VS) of our in-house databank of 1152 compounds was employed to identify small molecule inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 papain-like protease (PLpro), which are important protease for virus replication. The databank was built of the compounds from ten spices and two medicinal plants. Result(s): The top three potential hits that resulted from VS were myricetin (1) available in Alium cepa and Mentha piperita;alpha-hydroxyhydrocaffeic acid (2) available in M. Piperita;and luteolin (3) available in M. Piperita, Curcuma longa, A. cepa, and Trigonella foenum-graecum, which showed fair binding affinity to PLpro of SARS-CoV-2 compared to known SARS-CoV PLpro in-hibitors. The predicted Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, and Excretion (ADME) properties of the selected hits showed that all are drug-like. The compounds bind to biologically critical regions of the target protein, indicating their potential to inhibit the functionality of this component. Conclusion(s): There are only a few reports available in the literature on the in-silico identification of PLpro inhibitors and most of them used homology modeling of protein. Here, we used the recently uploaded X-ray crystal structure of PLpro (PDB ID: 6WX4) with a well-defined active site. Our computational approach has resulted in the identification of effective inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2PL-pro. The reported edible spices may be useful against COVID-19 as a home remedy after an in--vitro study.Copyright © 2021 Bentham Science Publishers.

Writing spice-themed poetry for covid-19 prevention campaign for indonesian children

Indonesian spices offer an avenue into a broad spectrum of knowledge covering history, geography, sciences, humanities, and medicine. During the COVID-19 pandemic, spices have been revisited for potentials to boost the immune system. However, this knowledge is often inaccessible to children, which leads to the risk of the nation losing local wisdoms related to its endemic plants. Therefore, this study aims to explore the writing of poetry on spices to educate elementary schools student about COVID-19 prevention. We reviewed literature and wisdom on Indonesian spices and proposed the formula of writing spice-themed poetry. Building on Sam Illingworth's concept of poetry as a dialogue, we stipulated four guiding elements in writing spice-themed poetry for children, namely (1) facilitation-purpose, (2) science exposure, (3) communicative interaction, and (4) transformation based on Indonesian knowledge and culture. We argue that writing poetry on spices potentially strengthens children's spice-related knowledge of natural sciences and Indonesian local wisdom. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Potential Health Survey of Traditional Spices & Herbs in Prevention and Treatment of COVID-19: A Review

The coronavirus (COVID-19) is a global public health pandemic disease emerged from the novel strain of the coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that caused severe acute respiratory syndrome. It is the most significant respiratory illness that has affected the world since World War II. Currently, there is no globally approved drug for the treatment of pandemic COVID-19 except for some recently approved vaccines. Instead, various non-specific treatment options are being utilized by different countries. While some of these are effective, there is a lack of well-documented studies on the impact of traditional medicines on the management of SARS-CoV-2 in vitro and in silico. For thousands of years, traditional healers have been using various herbs and spices products and dietary plants to treat various diseases. This review aims to provide information on the use of traditional spices & herbs in COVID-19 protection and treatment and present the main characteristics of these products and their potential antiviral actions. Various databases were searched for articles related to the use of various herbs for the treatment of viral infections. Many of these studies show that various plant compounds can be utilized for the treatment of viral infections. This study aims to summarize the common used of herbal products and dietary supplements with potent bioactive compounds in treatment or prevent of COVID-19.

In silico study on spice-derived antiviral phytochemicals against SARS-CoV-2 TMPRSS2 target.

Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19) caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a pandemic that has claimed so far over half a million human life across the globe. Researchers all over the world are exploring various molecules including phytochemicals to get a potential anti-COVID-19 drug. Certain phytochemicals present in some spices are claimed to possess antiviral, anti-bacterial, and anti-fungal properties. Hence, an in-silico study was done by selecting eighteen well reported antiviral phytochemicals from some spices commonly used in Indian kitchen viz. Curcuma longa (Turmeric), Nigella sativa (Black cumin), Piper nigrum (Black pepper), Trachyspermum ammi (Carom) and Zingiber officinale (Ginger) to find out whether they can prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection. Firstly, we predicted the structure of TMPRSS2 (transmembrane protease serine 2), a host protein that truncates spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 thereby facilitating its endocytosis, and then docked against its catalytic domain the selected phytochemicals and camostat (a well-known synthetic inhibitor of TMPRSS2). Thereafter, stability of seven best docked phytochemicals and camostat were scrutinized by Molecular Dynamic Simulation (MDS). MDS analysis indicated bisdemethoxycurcumin (BDMC), carvacrol and thymol as better inhibitors than the camostat due to their stable binding with TMPRSS2 in its oxyanion hole and inducing subtle modification in the spatial arrangement of the catalytic triad residues. Among these three phytochemicals, carvacrol appeared to be the best inhibitor, followed by BDMC, whereas thymol was least effective.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Dietary factors and SARS-CoV-2 contagion: in silico studies on modulation of viral and host proteins by spice actives.

The SARS-CoV-2 contagion has had a huge impact on world population. It has been observed that despite massive spread of the contagion in India particularly during the second wave, the overall case fatality rates remain low. This prompted us to look into dietary factors that can possibly modulate the viral impact and/or host response. In silico studies were carried out on forty-two commonly used spices and their 637 known active compounds with an aim of identifying such compounds that may have propensity to reduce viral impact or boost host immune response. We chose to study SARS-Cov-2 helicase on account of its functional importance in maintaining viral load within the host, and the human tank binding protein (TBK1) for its important role in host immunity. We carried out in silico virtual screening, docking studies with 637 phytochemical against these two proteins, using in silico methods. Upon assessing the strength of the ligand-target interactions and post simulation binding energy profile, our study identifies procyanidin-B4 from bay leaf, fenugreekine from fenugreek seed and gallotannin from pomegranate seed as active interactors that docked to viral helicase. Similarly, we identified eruboside B from garlic, gallotannin from pomegranate seed, as strong interacting partners to human TBK1. Our studies thus present dietary spice constituents as potential protagonists for further experimentation to understand how spices in the diet might help the hosts in countering the viral assault and mount a robust protective response against COVID and other infections.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Relation of spice consumption with COVID-19 first wave statistics (infection, recovery and mortality) across India

Background & Objectives: The recovery and mortality statistics for COVID-19 first wave considerably differed in different states & Union territories (UT) of India. Spices are an essential part of Indian cuisine. Apart from adding flavors and colors to the food, their importance is traditionally known in disease prevention and cure. Thus, present study was carried out to assess relation of spice consumption with COVID-19 first wave statistics in India. Methods: The spice consumption data of ginger, garlic, cumin, coriander, turmeric, black pepper, chili, tamarind and 'other spices' were retrieved from 'Household Consumption of Various Goods and Services in India' from 68th round (2011-12) of survey conducted by National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO). The first wave data for individual states and UTs were retrieved as total number of cases, number of cured/discharged/migrated cases and total number of deaths, in a cumulative normalized form. The correlation of these was analyzed. Results and Conclusions: Spices were consumed across India with a varied range. The highest consumed spice was ginger. The highest consumption of 'Other spices' were observed in Lakshadweep (149 gm/30 days), which incidentally reported zero cases. Tamarind had positive correlation (r = 0.4724) with total number of cases and recovered/migrated/cured cases (r = 0.4948). Cumin consumption exhibited weak positive correlation (r = 0.5011) with total deaths per million population. However, most of these correlations were statistically insignificant. These findings can help to predict preventive/mitigating or curative usage of these spices. The unspecified and under-explored 'Other spices' category showed promising correlation.

Spices that heal: Review on untapped potential of lesser-known spices as immunity booster during COVID-19 pandemic

Herbs and spices are natural plant products that have been extensively used worldwide in cooking, home remedies and several industries. In current COVID-19 pandemic, herbal exploration is continually performed to reduce harmful effects of virus. Usual spices like turmeric, basil, cinnamon, etc., have high antioxidant and antimicrobial activity which allow them to expand for their health benefits. But, there are other rare spices also, which can prove to be the most promising in curing serious ailments and enhancing immunity. This review is an attempt to highlight scientific evidence of three such spices, viz., Alkanna tinctoria (Ratanjot), Cleome viscosa (Jakhiya), and Nigella sativa (Kalongi) that support the wisdom of ancestors throughout the ages.

Practices of using home remedies as an immunity booster during COVID-19

Ayurveda is a traditional medicine that was used under numerous copious of medicine to cure and prevent various diseases. The sudden outbreak of coronavirus which was a major threat to life came into existence in 2020 and had an adverse effect on the immune system of the people, so to fight against coronavirus various home remedies were consumed as an immunity booster during COVID-19. The survey was conducted to study the practices of using home remedies by middle-aged people (40-60) as in this period, the aginge process started which causes a decline in the competence of immune function to fight against the virus. It was conducted on 120 subjects, of which 60 males and 60 females were selected of Udaipur city, Rajasthan. A well-structured questionnaire was developed and the data was collected randomly on the ease of availability of the subjects. From the findings, it was concluded that the (75%) majority of middle-aged people consumed home remedies;the major spices and herbs consumed were Tulsi, Giloy, Turmeric, Black pepper, and Ginger and most of them have partaken in the form of Kadha and Turmeric milk on sometimes basis, whereas other Ayurveda rasayana consumed was Chyawanprash and other than spices and herbs, vitamin C and probiotic foods were also consumed during COVID-19 to keep the immune system healthy.

A scoping review on herbs and spices with special reference to COVID-19 pandemic

The world is facing medical crisis due to the pandemic created by COVID-19. Due to COVID-19. not only our country but the whole world is passing through economic crisis also. As there is no specific treatment for the infection caused by SARS-CoV-2 and it affects the people with weak immunity more adversely so, many people including scientists are looking forward to increase the immunity by using medicinal plants, i.e., herbs and spices. Vitamin C is also being widely used by the doctors across the world to increase the immunity, but as herbs and spices are easily available and have been widely used as antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory agent since ancient time so, they can be used both as effective immunity booster as well as antiviral agent as shown by some compounds found in the herbs and spices.

Potential herbs as therapeutic agents for COVID-19: In silico studies

Across 218 countries, since March 2020, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection has been a reason for concern. Doctors as well as researchers. stand together to find a treatment for this pandemic. The virus attaches to the host cells via transmembrane spike glycoprotein. The glycoprotein has affinity for human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 and is dimeric. Thus, the virus attaches to the ACE receptors through the receptor-binding domain (SARS-CoV-2 RBD Spro). Further, the main protease (Mpro), a chymotrypsin-like protease (3CLpro), plays a critical role in post-translational modifications, thereby affecting viral survival. Thus, targeting these viral markers can not only block the fusion with host cells, but also affect replication of the virus. Ancient civilizations have been using plants, herbs as well as spices for their medicinal values as antiviral, antiinflammatory, antipyretic, antimicrobial and many more. The rich array of phytochemicals in these spices endows them with these beneficial properties, and hence they are largely being looked as agents for therapeutic use. However, the journey from laboratory for drug development is a time-consuming process as it starts from trying to identify the major therapeutic component to its pre-clinical studies, clinical and then its marketing as a drug. In the current pandemic where loss of human life has been in millions, a faster and more efficient modality like in silico studies can help escalate this search for a therapy thereby saving mankind. This study is a comprehensive review on results of in silico approaches conducted in near future in an attempt to evolve an ideal therapeutic candidate for ending the pandemic. Results of research conducted on phytochemicals from medicinal and aromatic plants as potential therapeutic candidates using tools of bioinformatics and computational modelling are hereby discussed.

COVID-19: Risks on animal health, phytochemical approach for prevention and impact on livestock sector: A short review

A pandemic is defined by World Health Organization as an epidemic that occurs worldwide, crossing international borders and typically affects a huge number of people. Their impact in terms of health, economic and social consequences is disastrous. There have been a number of significant pandemics recorded in human history but their frequency and impact of emerging and re-emerging diseases have increased over the last few decades. There is no doubt that the world is changing rapidly due to globalization, climate change, disease outbreaks and the pandemic has exacerbated the condition. COVID-19 has already been established as pandemic among human and several vaccines, medicines as well phytochemicals are already in the market as immunomodulator to protect this. It has affected day to day life and is slowing down the global economy. The livestock sector is also not untouched and resulted in hardships to millions of poor livestock keepers. But, whether this segment will be doomed forever depends on our various coping strategies. Keeping this in view, the current review has been written to highlight the impact of COVID-19 in animal health, phytochemical developments as well as various impact on livestock sector.

Association of food habit with the COVID-19 severity and hospitalization: A cross-sectional study among the recovered individuals in Bangladesh.

Background: It was assumed that dietary habits might influence the status of COVID-19 patients. Aim: We aimed at the identification of association of dietary habits with the COVID-19 severity and hospitalization. Methods: It was a retrospective cross-sectional study (n = 1025). We used bivariate and multivariate analyses to correlate the association between self-reported dietary patterns and COVID-19 severity and hospitalization. Results: Dietary habits (black tea, milked tea, pickles, black caraway seeds, honey, fish, fruits, vegetables, garlic, onion and turmeric) were identified with lower risk of COVID-19 severity and hospitalization. Interestingly, the consumption frequency (one-, two- or three-times/day) of rice - the staple food in Bangladesh - was not associated with COVID-19 severity and hospitalization for comorbid patients. In contrast, a moderate rice-eating habit (two times/day) was strongly associated with the lower risk of severity and hospitalization for non-comorbid patients. However, for both comorbid and non-comorbid patients, consumption of black tea, milked tea, pickles and honey were associated with a lower likelihood of severity and hospitalization. Overall, a high consumption (three-times/day) of fish, fruits and vegetables, a moderate consumption of garlic, onion and turmeric spices and a daily intake of black/milked tea, and honey were associated with reduced risk of COVID-19 severity and hospitalization. Conclusions: To reduce the severity of COVID-19, a habitual practice of intaking black tea, milked tea, black caraway seeds and honey along with dietary habit (rice, fish and vegetables) and with a moderate consumption of ginger, garlic, onion, mixed aromatic spices (cinnamon + cardamom + cloves) and turmeric might be suggested.

Role of immunity booster diet, spices and herbs, change lifestyle: medical viewpoints in COVID-19

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a pandemic caused by a novel coronavirus. On 30 January 2020, the first case of the COVID-19 was reported in India and it affects the whole world. The impact of various nutrients on the human immune system. To defend itself, the human body has numerous components. The human immune system identifies molecules that are foreign to its structure and responds to them in a useful manner. When a pathogen factor enters the human body, the immune system responds by triggering an immunological response.

Public awareness about the usage of medicinal herbs found in the kitchen and their potential against COVID-19 disease

For the past two years, the globe has been in deep despair as a result of the fast spread of the new Coronavirus, SARS CoV-2, and several of its variations such as Delta, Omicron, and others. This pandemic has caused widespread rumours and misconceptions, wreaking havoc on the worldwide health-care system. Due to the periodic outbreaks of this infectious disease, along with the administration of effective antiviral vaccines and adherence to mandatory government protocols, every human being's recourse has been to strengthen their immunity to resist this infectious disease using kitchen ingredients like herbs and spices with medicinal properties and other home remedies. The results showed that there was a significant rise in the usage of kitchen pharmacy and the application of traditional knowledge, compared to the pre-pandemic times, owing to its immunity boosting properties. Along with increase in usage of kitchen pharmacy, there was also a surge observed in usage of ayurveda, other home remedies and yoga, in comparison with allopathy. The statistical analysis showed that 40.9% of the respondents showed marked recovery after the continual usage of home remedies.

Therapeutic role of traditionally used Indian medicinal plants and spices in combating COVID-19 pandemic situation.

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused by SARS-CoV-2 is a big challenge and burning issue to the scientific community and doctors worldwide. Globally, COVID-19 has created a health disaster and adversely affects the economic growth. Although some vaccines have already emerged, no therapeutic medication has yet been approved by FDA for the treatment of COVID-19 patients. Traditionally, we have been using different medicinal plants like neem, tulsi, tea, and many spices like garlic, ginger, turmeric, black seed, onion, etc. for the treatment of flu-like diseases. In this paper, we are highlighting the recent research progress in the identification of natural products from the Indian medicinal plants and spices that have potential inhibition properties against SARS-CoV-2. This study will provide an initiative to stimulate further research by providing useful guidance to the medicinal chemists for designing new protease inhibitors effective against SARS-CoV-2 in future.

Study of awareness among hospitality student on mulled wine with respects to health benefits of wine

The aim of the study was to know awareness among hospitality students with respect to health benefits of mulled wine and to know about wine knowledge. During the COVID-19 pandemic situation it's important to take care of health and increase immunity system. The research to find about wine knowledge and importance of mulled wine awareness. Spices used for mulled wine are cloves and cinnamon and grated nutmeg. The awareness of mulled wine were taken from the participant over the age of 18. Responses were collected by means of an online questionnaire. The gained results showed that most of the hospitality students are not aware about mulled wine or they consider it can be taken during winter only but once they are aware more exposure will be there in wine market found by researcher. Mulled wine have less alcoholic content compare to red wine as well it has health benefit by its content can increase immunity system amongst consumer and in hotel it can be advice by server to guest explaining its benefits and most of the hotel can keep in their beverage menu.

Are Indian Culinary Spices Acting as an Immunomodulatory Factor Against Covid-19?

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus- 2 (SARS-CoV-2) due to its rapid community transmission and absence of an effective antiviral drug has caused a high morbidity and mortality in human lives world over. According to the WHO Situation Report No. 102 as on January 12, 2022, India recorded 35.87 million confirmed cases of COVID 19 with a death rate of 1.34 %, the total death being 0.48 million, in comparison to the global death rate of 1.78%. The host-pathogen interactions are important to understand an infectious disease and to follow specific treatment for cure and measures for prevention. Various factors involved in disease emergence with interplay between pathogens, hosts and environment changes the disease ecology creating novel transmission patterns and severity. Indian conventional foods and culinary spices contain a number of active principles, including polysaccharides, terpenoids, alkaloids, flavonoids, glycosides, and essential oils, which act as immunomodulators and have tremendous capability to maintain and/or stimulate the immune system primarilythrough the modulation of nonspecific immune responses. This review highlights the bioactive components of some of the most commonly used Indian culinary spices grounding a new dimension of research on these natural phytoproducts to bring out their functional and medicinal values vis-a-vis improvement of human health. In conclusion, the structure of bioactive molecules present in the Indian dietary spices may pave way for the development of anti-SARS-CoV-2 drugs for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19.