ABSTRACT
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.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: A novel coronavirus severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which causing the pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), may attack testes by angiotensin-converting enzyme 2. OBJECTIVE: To assess whether SARS-CoV-2 infection can affect sex-related hormones and testicular function in recovering patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The patients were separately classified according to the duration of viral shedding (long-term positive vs normal-term group, with the former cases having a duration > 50 days) and disease severity (moderate vs severe group). Differences in sex-related hormone levels were compared between groups and linear regression analysis was used to compare the associations of testosterone (T) and estradiol with various clinical and laboratory factors. RESULTS: A total of 39 COVID-19-infected patients were included in this study. The mean T level was in the normal reference range while the mean estradiol level was above the normal limit. There were no significant differences between the long-term positive and normal-term groups in T (P = .964), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH; P = .694), luteinizing hormone (LH; P = .171), prolactin (PRL; P = .836), or T/LH (P = .512). However, estradiol was higher in the normal-term group than the long-term positive group (P < .001). Moreover, there were also no significant differences between the moderate and severe groups in sex-related hormones, duration of viral shedding, or serum biochemical or inflammation indicators. Additionally, regression analyses showed that there were no associations between the T level and the clinical and laboratory factors, while estradiol was negatively associated with the duration of viral shedding. CONCLUSION: In males infected with SARS-CoV-2, most sex-related hormones (T, FSH and LH levels) remain within the normal reference ranges after recovery from COVID-19, and no significant associations were observed between T level and disease duration or severity. At present, there is insufficient evidence to show that SARS-CoV-2 causes hypogonadism and sterility, but the potential risk should not be ignored.