Inflammation inhibitory activity of green tea, soybean, and guava extracts during Sars-Cov-2 infection through TNF protein in cytokine storm.

Coronavirus disease is caused by the pathogen severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-Cov-2) known as COVID-19. COVID-19 has caused the deaths of 6,541,936 people worldwide as of September 27th, 2022. SARS-CoV-2 severity is determined by a cytokine storm condition, in which the innate immune system creates an unregulated and excessive production of pro-inflammatory such IL-1, IL-6, NF Kappa B, and TNF alpha signaling molecules known as cytokines. The patient died due to respiratory organ failure and an acute complication because of the hyper-inflammation phenomenon. Green tea, soybean, and guava bioactive substances are well-known to act as anti-inflammation, and antioxidants become prospective COVID-19 illness candidates to overcome the cytokine storm. Our research aims to discover the bioactivity, bioavailability, and protein targets of green tea, soybean, and guava bioactive compounds as anti-inflammatory agents via the TNF inhibition pathway. The experiment uses in silico methods and harnesses the accessible datasets. Samples of 3D structure and SMILE identity of bioactive compounds were retrieved from the KNApSAck and Dr Duke databases. The QSAR analysis was done by WAY2DRUG web server, while the ADME prediction was performed using SWISSADME web server, following the Lipinsky rules of drugs. The target protein and protein-protein interaction were analyzed using STRING DB and Cytoscape software. Lastly, molecular docking was performed using Autodock 4.2 and visualization with BioVia Discovery Studio 2019. The identified study showed the potential of green tea, soybean, and guava's bioactive compounds have played an important role as anti-inflammation agents through TNF inhibitor pathway.

Strictinin: A Key Ingredient of Tea.

Strictinin is a relatively tiny ellagitannin, which is found in many plants as a minor constituent. Catechins are known as the major constituents in the young leaves of most tea plants, while strictinin was found as a major constituent in the Pu'er tea plant. In some Pu'er tea varieties, strictinin was identified as the most abundant phenolic compound rather than catechins. In the past decade, strictinin was demonstrated to possess several functional activities, including antiviral, antibacterial, anti-obesity, laxative, anticaries, anti-allergic, antipsoriatic, antihyperuricemia, antidiabetic, and anticancer effects. These functional activities were in accordance with the therapeutic effects empirically perceived for Pu'er tea. Evidently, strictinin is the key ingredient in Pu'er tea that acts as a herbal medicine. In functionally-based applications, an instant powder of Pu'er tea infusion was formulated as an active raw material to be supplemented in food, cosmetics, and beverages; a new type of tea named Bitter Citrus Tzen Tea was developed by combining three teas empirically consumed to expel the cold, and new edible oral care products were designed for caries prevention by supplementation with Pu'er tea extract. More functional activities and practical applications of strictinin are scientifically anticipated in follow-up research.

The APPLE Tree programme: Active Prevention in People at risk of dementia through Lifestyle, bEhaviour change and Technology to build REsiliEnce-randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Large-scale trials of multidomain interventions show that modifying lifestyle and psychological risk factors can slow cognitive decline. We aim to determine if a lower intensity, personally tailored secondary dementia prevention programme for older people with subjective or mild objective memory decline, informed by behaviour change theory, reduces cognitive decline over 2 years. METHODS: A multi-site, single-blind randomised controlled trial recruiting 704 older adults at high dementia risk due to mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or subjective cognitive decline (SCD). Participants are randomised using 1:1 allocation ratio to the APPLE Tree intervention versus control arm (dementia prevention information), stratified by site. The intervention explores and implements strategies to promote healthy lifestyle, increase pleasurable activities and social connections and improve long-term condition self-management. Two facilitators trained and supervised by a clinical psychologist deliver ten, 1-h group video call sessions over 6 months (approximately every fortnight), video-call 'tea breaks' (less structured, facilitated social sessions) in intervening weeks and individual goal-setting phone calls every 2 weeks. From 6 to 12 months, participants meet monthly for 'tea breaks', with those not attending receiving monthly goal-setting phone calls. Participants receive a food delivery, pedometer and website access to cognitive training and information about lifestyle modification. Follow-ups for all outcome measures are at 12 and 24 months. The primary outcome is cognition (Neuropsychological Test Battery (NTB) score) at 24 months. Secondary outcomes are quality of life, cost per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) and wellbeing and lifestyle factors the intervention targets (diet, vascular risk, body weight, activity, sleep, anxiety, depression, social networks and loneliness, alcohol intake and smoking). Participants from purposively selected sites participate in qualitative process evaluation interviews, which will be analysed using thematic analytic methods. DISCUSSION: If effective, the intervention design, involving remote delivery and non-clinical facilitators, would facilitate intervention roll-out to older people with memory concerns. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN17325135 . Registration date 27 November 2019.

Biodegradation of COVID19 antibiotic; azithromycin and its impact on soil microbial community in the presence of phenolic waste and with temperature variation.

The increase in using antibiotics, especially Azithromycin have increased steadily since the beginning of COVID19 pandemic. This increase has led to its presence in water systems which consequently led to its presence upon using this water for irrigation. The aim of the present work is to study the impact of irrigation using Azithromycin containing water on soil microbial community and its catabolic activity in the presence of phenolic wastes as compost. Wild berry, red grapes, pomegranate, and spent tea waste were added to soil and the degradation was monitored after 5 and 7 days at ambient and high temperatures. The results obtained show that at 30 °C, soil microbial community collectively was able to degrade Azithromycin, while at 40 °C, addition of spent tea as compost was needed to reach higher degradation. To ensure that the degradation was biotic and depended on degradation by indigenous microflora, a 25 kGy irradiation dose was used to kill the microorganisms in the soil and this was used as negative control. The residual antibiotic was assayed using UV spectroscopy and High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). Indication of Azithromycin presence was studied using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) peaks and the same pattern was obtained using the 3 used detection methods, the ability to assign the peaks even in the presence of soil and not to have any overlaps, gives the chance to study this result in depth to prepare IR based sensor for quick sensing of antibiotic in environmental samples.

Indian food habit & food ingredients may have a role in lowering the severity & high death rate from COVID-19 in Indians: findings from the first nutrigenomic analysis.

Background & objectives: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the death rate was reportedly 5-8 fold lower in India which is densely populated as compared to less populated western countries. The aim of this study was to investigate whether dietary habits were associated with the variations in COVID-19 severity and deaths between western and Indian population at the nutrigenomics level. Methods: In this study nutrigenomics approach was applied. Blood transcriptome of severe COVID-19 patients from three western countries (showing high fatality) and two datasets from Indian patients were used. Gene set enrichment analyses were performed for pathways, metabolites, nutrients, etc., and compared for western and Indian samples to identify the food- and nutrient-related factors, which may be associated with COVID-19 severity. Data on the daily consumption of twelve key food components across four countries were collected and a correlation between nutrigenomics analyses and per capita daily dietary intake was investigated. Results: Distinct dietary habits of Indians were observed, which may be associated with low death rate from COVID-19. Increased consumption of red meat, dairy products and processed foods by western populations may increase the severity and death rate by activating cytokine storm-related pathways, intussusceptive angiogenesis, hypercapnia and enhancing blood glucose levels due to high contents of sphingolipids, palmitic acid and byproducts such as CO2 and lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Palmitic acid also induces ACE2 expression and increases the infection rate. Coffee and alcohol that are highly consumed in western countries may increase the severity and death rates from COVID-19 by deregulating blood iron, zinc and triglyceride levels. The components of Indian diets maintain high iron and zinc concentrations in blood and rich fibre in their foods may prevent CO2 and LPS-mediated COVID-19 severity. Regular consumption of tea by Indians maintains high high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and low triglyceride in blood as catechins in tea act as natural atorvastatin. Importantly, regular consumption of turmeric in daily food by Indians maintains strong immunity and curcumin in turmeric may prevent pathways and mechanisms associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 severity and lowered the death rate. Interpretation & conclusions: Our results suggest that Indian food components suppress cytokine storm and various other severity related pathways of COVID-19 and may have a role in lowering severity and death rates from COVID-19 in India as compared to western populations. However, large multi-centered case-control studies are required to support our current findings.

Edible alginate-based films with anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity.

The viability of SARS-CoV-2 on food surfaces and its propagation through the food chain has been discussed by several stakeholders, as it may represent a serious public health problem, bringing new challenges to the food system. This work shows for the first time that edible films can be used against SARS-CoV-2. Sodium alginate-based films containing gallic acid, geraniol, and green tea extract were evaluated in terms of their antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2. The results showed that all these films have strong in vitro antiviral activity against this virus. However, a higher concentration of the active compound (1.25%) is needed for the film containing gallic acid to achieve similar results to those obtained for lower concentrations of geraniol and green tea extract (0.313%). Furthermore, critical concentrations of the active compounds in the films were used to evaluate their stability during storage. Results showed that gallic acid-loaded films lose their activity from the second week of storage, while films with geraniol and green tea extract only show a drop in activity after four weeks. These results highlight the possibility of using edible films and coatings as antiviral materials on food surfaces or food contact materials, which may help to reduce the spreading of viruses through the food chain.

The correlation between lifestyle health behaviors, coping style, and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic among college students: Two rounds of a web-based study.

Background: During the last months of 2019, worldwide attention has focused on a pandemic of COVID-19, and the pandemic spread rapidly, becoming a public health emergency of international concern. The Chinese government has quickly taken quarantine measures and the drastic measures incurred to curtail it, which could have harmful consequences for everyone's behavior and mental health. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the correlation of influencing factors and mental health symptoms among Chinese college students according to two rounds of surveys during the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and methods: This study was divided into two stages of cross-sectional investigation. In February 2020 and May 2020, two cross-sectional surveys were conducted on college students in the above areas by means of cluster sampling. From February 4 to February 12, 2020, 14,789 college students completed the first round of online study from 16 cities and universities in 21 in China, excluding participants who completed the questionnaire, and finally included 11,787 college students. After 3 months, we also conducted a large-scale questionnaire survey based on the first study area to observe the behavioral changes and psychological symptoms of college students within 3 months. Using the convenience sampling method, a survey on the cognitive and psychological status of COVID-19 among college students was conducted in 21 universities in 16 regions in May 2020. The regions among the two surveys are divided into Wuhan (District 1), neighboring Hubei (District 2), first-tier cities, namely, Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou (District 3), and other provinces (District 4). Results: (1) In the first survey, the average age of the participants was 20.51 ± 1.88 years. One-third of the college students were male. In total, 25.9 and 17.8% of college students reported depression and anxiety symptoms, respectively. College students, who reported higher ST, lower PA, higher soda beverage and tea beverage intake, have Chinese herbal medicine and vitamin drinking, and decreased frequency of diet had higher depression and anxiety symptoms. Moreover, infection risk, perceived resistance to COVID-19, concerns about physical symptoms, family/friends directly/indirectly contacted with confirmed cases, and seeking psychological counseling had significant associations with anxiety and depression symptoms. (2) In the second round of surveys, 6803 males (41.7%) and 9502 females (58.3%) had a mean age of 20.58 ± 1.81 years. The prevalence of depressive symptoms and anxiety symptoms during COVID-19 was 30.7 and 23.9%, respectively. (3) In both surveys, college students who reported having higher ST, lower PA, higher soda beverage and tea beverage intake, Chinese herbal medicine and vitamin drinking, and decreased frequency of diet also had higher depression and anxiety symptoms. Coping styles with COVID-19 partially mediate the association between some related lifestyle behaviors and anxiety and depression. The results of the conditional process model analysis support our hypothesis that lifestyle behaviors, and coping styles are both predictors of anxiety and depression symptoms, with both direct and indirect effects moderated by gender level. In logistic regression analysis, the correlation of depression and anxiety in the second rounds of the survey was higher than that in the first survey. In two surveys, there was a correlation between lifestyle health behaviors and coping style, gender and mental health. Conclusions: Our findings demonstrated that the prevalence of anxiety and depression in the two rounds of surveys was different, and the prevalence in the second round was higher than that in the first round, as well as that in the two rounds of surveys. All survey identified that unhealthy lifestyle behaviors were positively associated with depression and anxiety symptoms. Compared with the emerged city of risk areas, other pandemic regions have a lower risk of mental health problems. The survey findings complement each other. Lifestyle health behaviors and coping style alleviated mental health symptoms. COVID-19-related social stressors were positively associated with mental health symptoms. The study also suggests that at the beginning of the pandemic, the effective management of college students' mental health problems, corresponding coping measures and maintaining a good lifestyle play a key role in the prevention and control of other cities. Understanding the college students' lifestyle behaviors during COVID-19 lockdown will help public health authorities reshape future policies on their nutritional recommendations, in preparation for future pandemics.

SARS-CoV-2 omicron variants are susceptible in vitro to Artemisia annua hot water extracts.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Artemisia annua L. has >2000 yr of history in treating fever a symptom common to many infectious diseases including viruses. The plant is widely used as a tea infusion in many areas of the globe to thwart many infectious diseases. AIM OF THE STUDY: The SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) virus continues to infect millions while rapidly evolving new variants that are more transmissible and evade vaccine-elicited antibodies, e.g., omicron and its subvariants. Having shown potency against all previously tested variants, A. annua L. extracts were further tested against highly infectious omicron and its recent subvariants. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Using Vero E6 cells, we measured the in vitro efficacy (IC50) of stored (frozen) dried-leaf hot-water A. annua L. extracts of four cultivars (A3, BUR, MED, and SAM) against SARS-CoV-2 variants: original WA1 (WT), BA.1 (omicron), BA.2, BA.2.12.1, and BA.4. End point virus titers of infectivity in cv. BUR-treated human lung A459 cells overexpressing hu-ACE2 were determined for both WA1 and BA.4 viruses. RESULTS: When normalized to the artemisinin (ART) or leaf dry weight (DW) equivalent of the extract, the IC50 values ranged from 0.5 to 16.5 µM ART and from 20 to 106 µg DW. IC50 values were within limits of assay variation of our earlier studies. End-point titers confirmed a dose-response inhibition in ACE2 overexpressing human lung cells to the BUR cultivar. Cell viability losses were not measurable at leaf dry weights ≤50 µg for any cultivar extract. CONCLUSIONS: A. annua hot-water extracts (tea infusions) continue to show efficacy against SARS-CoV-2 and its rapidly evolving variants and deserve greater attention as a possible cost-effective therapeutic.

Sugar-sweetened beverages consumption during Covid-19 pandemic among office workers in semi-urban area in southern Thailand: a cross-sectional study.

Background: During COVID-19 pandemic, office worker has spent more than 6-8 hours per day sitting for online working following social distancing policy. Considering the popularity of online ordering and home delivery services, sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) consumption have increased. However, the link between the types SSB consumption and their BMI was less well documented. Objective: To determine the association of the habitual intake (type, frequency, and volume) of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) with body mass index (BMI). Material and methods: A cross-sectional study, 337 office workers were selected according to probability proportionto-size and systematic random sampling. Data were collected using face-to-face interviews on the type, frequency, and volume of sugar-sweetened beverage intake. Samples of sugar-containing beverages were analyzed using high-throughput liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The chi-square test was used to determine the relationship of SSB consumption with BMI. Unadjusted binary logistic regression analysis was used to assess the associations between BMI and metabolic diseases. Results: Most respondents (56.1%) were overweight (BMI >23 kg/m2). The most consumed SSB was milk tea (e.g., Thai tea and green tea), which was significantly related with BMI (p=0.03). LC-MS/MS analysis showed that sucrose and lactose were the major sugars in milk tea (34.7 g/100mL, on average). 70.6% of the respondents consumed >24 g/day of sugar, which is more than the World Health Organization's recommendation. Conclusions: Health control policies and health education, for example warning labels for the reduction of SSB consumption, may urgently be required to promote health in workplaces and prevent SSB-related metabolic diseases.

Strictinin, a Major Ingredient in Yunnan Kucha Tea Possessing Inhibitory Activity on the Infection of Mouse Hepatitis Virus to Mouse L Cells.

Theacrine and strictinin of Yunnan Kucha tea prepared from a mutant variety of wild Pu'er tea plants were two major ingredients responsible for the anti-influenza activity. As the COVID-19 outbreak is still lurking, developing safe and cost-effective therapeutics is an urgent need. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of these tea compounds on the infection of mouse hepatitis virus (MHV), a ß-coronavirus serving as a surrogate for SARS-CoV. Treatment with strictinin (100 µM), but not theacrine, completely eliminated MHV infection, as indicated by a pronounced reduction in plaque formation, nucleocapsid protein expression, and progeny production of MHV. Subsequently, a time-of-drug addition protocol, including pre-, co-, or post-treatment, was exploited to further evaluate the possible mechanism of antiviral activity mediated by strictinin, and remdesivir, a potential drug for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2, was used as a positive control against MHV infection. The results showed that all three treatments of remdesivir (20 µM) completely blocked MHV infection. In contrast, no significant effect on MHV infection was observed when cells were pre-treated with strictinin (100 µM) prior to infection, while significant inhibition of MHV infection was observed when strictinin was introduced upon viral adsorption (co-treatment) and after viral entry (post-treatment). Of note, as compared with the co-treatment group, the inhibitory effect of strictinin was more striking in the post-treatment group. These results indicate that strictinin suppresses MHV infection by multiple mechanisms; it possibly interferes with viral entry and also critical step(s) of viral infection. Evidently, strictinin significantly inhibited MHV infection and might be a suitable ingredient for protection against coronavirus infection.

An outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 infections among people living with HIV and its successful containment-Taiwan, May to August 2021.

In Taiwan, 14,308 locally acquired COVID-19 cases among customers and employees in Sexy Tea shops were the first cases from May 9-August 28, 2021 (weeks 19-34). Nine weeks after the community spread of COVID-19 began, the proportion of people living with HIV (PLHIV) among the COVID-19 patients peaked at 35.7%, affecting 192 HIV patients, while the prevalence of HIV infection was 0.15%. In addition to a nationwide Level 3 epidemic alert, the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (Taiwan CDC) launched four strategies to contain this outbreak among PLHIV in this prevaccine era, including improving the quality of contact tracing, delivering health information via peer navigators, expanding SARS-CoV-2 screening and encouraging vaccination, and addressing hesitancy. The outbreak of COVID-19 related to Alpha strain among PLHIV in 2021 ceased four weeks after peaking and lasted eight weeks.

Exploring new catechin derivatives as SARS-CoV-2 Mpro inhibitors from tea by molecular networking, surface plasma resonance, enzyme inhibition, induced fit docking, and metadynamics simulations.

SARS-CoV-2 Mpro (Mpro) is the critical cysteine protease in coronavirus viral replication. Tea polyphenols are effective Mpro inhibitors. Therefore, we aim to isolate and synthesize more novel tea polyphenols from Zhenghedabai (ZHDB) white tea methanol-water (MW) extracts that might inhibit COVID-19. Through molecular networking, 33 compounds were identified and divided into 5 clusters. Further, natural products molecular network (MN) analysis showed that MN1 has new phenylpropanoid-substituted ester-catechin (PSEC), and MN5 has the important basic compound type hydroxycinnamoylcatechins (HCCs). Thus, a new PSEC (1, PSEC636) was isolated, which can be further detected in 14 green tea samples. A series of HCCs were synthesized (2-6), including three new acetylated HCCs (3-5). Then we used surface plasmon resonance (SPR) to analyze the equilibrium dissociation constants (KD) for the interaction of 12 catechins and Mpro. The KD values of PSEC636 (1), EGC-C (2), and EC-CDA (3) were 2.25, 2.81, and 2.44 µM, respectively. Moreover, compounds 1, 2, and 3 showed the potential Mpro inhibition with IC50 5.95 ± 0.17, 9.09 ± 0.22, and 23.10 ± 0.69 µM, respectively. Further, we used induced fit docking (IFD), binding pose metadynamics (BPMD), and molecular dynamics (MD) to explore the stable binding pose of Mpro-1, showing that 1 could tightly bond with the amino acid residues THR26, HIS41, CYS44, TYR54, GLU166, and ASP187. The computer modeling studies reveal that the ester, acetyl, and pyrogallol groups could improve inhibitory activity. Our research suggests that these catechins are effective Mpro inhibitors, and might be developed as therapeutics against COVID-19.

Tanshinone IIA loaded bioactive nanoemulsion for alleviation of lipopolysaccharide induced acute lung injury via inhibition of endothelial glycocalyx shedding.

Acute lung injury (ALI) and its more serious form; acute respiratory distress syndrome are major causes of COVID-19 related mortality. Finding new therapeutic targets for ALI is thus of great interest. This work aimed to prepare a biocompatible nanoformulation for effective pulmonary delivery of the herbal drug; tanshinone-IIA (TSIIA) for ALI management. A nanoemulsion (NE) formulation based on bioactive natural ingredients; rhamnolipid biosurfactant and tea-tree oil, was developed using a simple ultrasonication technique, optimized by varying oil concentration and surfactant:oil ratio. The selected TSIIA-NE formulation showed 105.7 nm diameter and a PDI âˆ¼ 0.3. EE exceeded 98 % with biphasic sustained drug release and good stability over 3-months. In-vivo efficacy was evaluated in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced ALI model. TSIIA-NE (30 µg/kg) was administered once intratracheally 2 h after LPS instillation. Evaluation was performed 7days post-treatment. Pulmonary function assessment, inflammatory, oxidative stress and glycocalyx shedding markers analysis in addition to histopathological examination of lung tissue were performed. When compared to untreated rats, in-vivo efficacy study demonstrated 1.4 and 1.9-fold increases in tidal volume and minute respiratory volume, respectively, with 32 % drop in wet/dry lung weight ratio and improved levels of arterial blood gases. Lung histopathology and biochemical analysis of different biomarkers in tissue homogenate and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid indicated that treatment may ameliorate LPS-induced ALI symptoms thorough anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory effects and inhibition of glycocalyx degradation. TSIIA-NE efficacy was superior to free medication and blank-NE. The enhanced efficacy of TSIIA bioactive nanoemulsion significantly suggests the pharmacotherapeutic potential of bioactive TSIIA-NE as a promising nanoplatform for ALI.

Impact of COVID-19 restrictive measures on income and health service utilization of tuberculosis patients in India.

BACKGROUND: The nationwide lockdown (March 25 to June 8, 2020) to curb the spread of coronavirus infection had significant health and economic impacts on the Indian economy. There is limited empirical evidence on how COVID-19 restrictive measures may impact the economic welfare of specific groups of patients, e.g., tuberculosis patients. We provide the first such evidence for India. METHODS: A total of 291 tuberculosis patients from the general population and from a high-risk group, patients from tea garden areas, were interviewed at different time points to understand household income loss during the complete lockdown, three and eight months after the complete lockdown was lifted. Income loss was estimated by comparing net monthly household income during and after lockdown with prelockdown income. Tuberculosis service utilization patterns before and during the lockdown period also were examined. Household income loss, travel and other expenses related to tuberculosis drug pickup were presented in 2020 US dollars (1 US$ = INR 74.132). RESULTS: 26% of households with tuberculosis patients in tea garden areas and 51% of households in the general population had zero monthly income during the complete lockdown months (April-May 2020). Overall income loss slowly recovered during July-August compared to April-May 2020. Approximately 7% of patients in the general population and 4% in tea garden areas discontinued their tuberculosis medicines because of the complete lockdown. CONCLUSION: Discontinuation of medicine will have an additional burden on the tuberculosis elimination program in terms of additional cases, including multidrug resistant tuberculosis cases. Income loss for households and poor restoration of income after the lockdown will likely have an impact on the nutrition of tuberculosis patients and families. Tuberculosis patients working in the informal sector were the worst affected group during the nationwide lockdown. This emphasizes that a policy priority must continue to protect those working in informal sectors from the economic consequences of such restrictive measures, including paid sick leave, additional food support, and direct benefit transfers. Alongside ensuring widespread access to COVID-19 vaccines, these policy actions remain pivotal in ensuring the well-being of those who are unfortunate enough to be living with tuberculosis.

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.

The green tea catechin EGCG provides proof-of-concept for a pan-coronavirus attachment inhibitor.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) has emphasized the serious threat to human health posed by emerging coronaviruses. Effective broadly-acting antiviral countermeasures are urgently needed to prepare for future emerging CoVs, as vaccine development is not compatible with a rapid response to a newly emerging virus. The green tea catechin, epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), has broad-spectrum antiviral activity, although its mechanisms against coronavirus (CoV) infection have remained unclear. Here, we show that EGCG prevents human and murine CoV infection and blocks the entry of lentiviral particles pseudotyped with spike proteins from bat or highly pathogenic CoVs, including SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern, in lung epithelial cells. Mechanistically, EGCG treatment reduces CoV attachment to target cell surfaces by interfering with attachment to cell-surface glycans. Heparan sulfate proteoglycans are a required attachment factor for SARS-CoV-2 and are shown here to be important in endemic HCoV-OC43 infection. We show that EGCG can compete with heparin, a heparan sulfate analog, for virion binding. Our results highlight heparan sulfate as a conserved cell attachment factor for CoVs, and demonstrate the potential for the development of pan-coronavirus attachment inhibitors, which may be useful to protect against future emerging CoVs.

Multi-target mechanisms against coronaviruses of constituents from Chinese Dagang Tea revealed by experimental and docking studies.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: The leaves of Eurya chinensis（Chinese Dagang Tea）have been consumed as herbal tea for centuries in Guangdong, China, and have also been used to prevent influenza and treat colds and fevers in traditional Chinese medicine. However, there are no reports on the chemical profile and efficacy of its leaves for the treatment of fever and viral infections. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The chemical constituents of Eurya chinensis leaves were isolated and identified by phytochemical study and spectroscopic data, E. chinensis extracts and compounds were evaluated for their antiviral activities by cytopathic effect (CPE) reduction and antibody-based EC50 assay. The antiviral effect of the main component was confirmed by immunofluorescence and transmission electron microscopy. Virtual screening and docking enzyme inhibition experiments were performed to analyze the anti-coronavirus mechanisms of the compounds from E. chinensis leaves. RESULTS: In this study, we found for the first time that E. chinensis leaf extract exhibited inhibitory effects against coronaviruses HCoV-OC43 in vitro. Among 23 monomer compounds isolated from E. chinensis leaf extract, the triterpenoids (betulinic acid, α-amyrin) and the flavonoids (naringenin, eriodictyol and quercetin) showed marked antiviral activity. Microscopic optical analyses further demonstrated that betulinic acid can remove virus particles from HCoV-OC43 infected cells. Virtual screening and docking analysis towards the coronavirus in vogue revealed that betulinic acid was able to bind well to PLpro and Nsp14N7-MTase, and that the flavonoids prefer to bind with PLpro, Nsp3MES, NspP14N7-MTase, Nsp16GTA, and Nsp16SAM. The enzyme inhibition experiments demonstrated that betulinic acid (1) exhibited significant inhibition of PLpro and N7-MTase activity of SARS-CoV-2. CONCLUSION: This study proposes E. chinensis and its triterpenoids and flavonoids as promising potential treatments for coronaviruses.

Hormonal regulation of health-promoting compounds in tea (Camellia sinensis L.).

Tea is the most frequently consumed natural beverage across the world produced with the young leaves and shoots of the evergreen perennial plant Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze. The expanding global appeal of tea is partly attributed to its health-promoting benefits such as anti-inflammation, anti-cancer, anti-allergy, anti-hypertension, anti-obesity, and anti- SARS-CoV-2 activity. The many advantages of healthy tea intake are linked to its bioactive substances such as tea polyphenols, flavonoids (catechins), amino acids (theanine), alkaloids (caffeine), anthocyanins, proanthocyanidins, etc. that are produced through secondary metabolic pathways. Phytohormones regulate secondary metabolite biosynthesis in a variety of plants, including tea. There is a strong hormonal response in the biosynthesis of polyphenols, catechins, theanine and caffeine in tea under control and perturbed environmental conditions. In addition to the impact of preharvest plant hormone manipulation on green tea quality, changes in hormones of postharvest tea also regulate quality-related metabolites in tea. In this review, we discuss the health benefits of major tea constituents and the role of various plant hormones in improving the endogenous levels of these compounds for human health benefits. The fact that the ratio of tea polyphenols to amino acids and the concentrations of tea components are changed by environmental conditions, most notably by climate change-associated variables, the selection and usage of optimal hormone combinations may aid in sustaining tea quality, and thus can be beneficial to both consumers and producers.