Probiotics and COVID-19: is there any link?

Understanding mechanisms of the novel SARS-CoV2 infection and progression can provide potential novel targets for prevention and/or treatment. This could be achieved via the inhibition of viral entry and/or replication, or by suppression of the immunologic response that is provoked by the infection (known as the cytokine storm). Probiotics are defined as 'live microorganisms that, when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host'. There is scarcity of evidence about the relationship between COVID-19 and gut microbiota. So, whether or not these supplements can prevent or ameliorate COVID-19-associated symptoms is not fully understood. The aim of this study is to provide an indirect evidence about the utility of probiotics in combating COVID-19 or its associated symptoms, through the review of its antiviral and anti-inflammatory properties in vitro, animal models and human trials. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: The role of probiotics in alleviation of the novel COVID-19 has not been established. This review provides an insight about the anti-inflammatory, antiviral effects of probiotics in vitro, animal models and human. The latter can provide an indirect evidence and/or hypothesis-driven approach to investigate the use of probiotics as adjunctive therapy in the prophylaxis and/or alleviation of COVID-19 symptoms.

The impact of an educational workshop on counteracting hesitancy toward the COVID-19 vaccine among pharmacy students in Jordan

Hesitancy toward the COVID-19 vaccine is a worldwide issue. Several interventions should be implemented to enhance the uptake of the vaccine, including brochures, lectures, and workshops. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of clinical pharmacist-led education on counteracting hesitancy toward the COVID-19 vaccine and thus on the willingness to take it by pharmacy students in Jordan. This study is a pre-post interventional study that was conducted during April 2021. During the study period, a convenient sample of the students was invited to participate in this study via an announcement that had been distributed through social media to register in the workshop. Pre and post educational surveys were sent to students by a link on WhatsApp. The intervention was constituted of 90 minutes by the Zoom® videoconferencing application. A total of 100 students answered the questionnaire. There was a significant improvement in the students’ knowledge score that increased from 11 pre-workshop to 12 postworkshop (p value < 0.001). Also, the students’ perception of the COVID-19 vaccine increased significantly following the intervention for most statements. Students’ willingness to take the COVID-19 vaccine if it is available improved significantly from pre-intervention (68%) to post-intervention (95%) (p < 0.001). In addition, their acceptance of the vaccine increased from 78% to 97% following the workshop. Clinical pharmacist-led education had a positive effect on counteracting vaccine hesitancy and increasing COVID-19 vaccine acceptance by pharmacy students and students’ knowledge and perception of the vaccine. © 2022. Farah Al-Turk et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Investigation into the prophylactic and therapeutic activity of coenzyme Q10 against COVID-19

Purpose: To evaluate the anti-SARS CoV-2 effect of Coenzyme Q 10, Ubiquinol-10, and idebenone, which have beneficial therapeutic applications against diverse virus types, using molecular docking approach. Methods: The potential activity of Coenzyme Q10, Ubiquinol-10, and Idebenone against viral infections was explored through the collection of data from relevant literature, and by modelling these compounds virtually, using in silico investigation methods. Results: Coenzyme Q10 and ubiquinol-10 showed significant docking performance. They interacted with numerous amino acid residues of the main protease of SARS-CoV-2 ACE2 (7C8J), Alpha thrombin (1AE8), TYRO (4TS1) protein targets sides, SARS-coronavirus Orf7a accessory protein (1XAK), TNF (1RJ8), and Cytokine/receptor (1I1R). Conclusion: The findings of our study showed promising inhibitory activities of the selected compounds against the main proteases of SARS-CoV-2. Consequently, these compounds have theoretical effects on inhibiting the viral entry, reproduction, and ultimately the prevention and/or treatment of the SARSCoV2 infection.

Phytotherapeutic approaches and ethnopharmacological responses against covid-19

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the most important public health problem in 2020, poses severe health and socioeconomic impact. Many people turn to herbal therapy to prevent infection with the virus or alleviate the symptoms caused by it. This study evaluates the patterns of phytotherapy-based product utilization in the prevention against SARS-COV-2 and their reported effectiveness. This cross-sectional survey used a convenience sample of 287 adults who had used any form of phytotherapeutics to help fight and/or treat COVID-19 infection. The majority (n = 194, 67.6%) of participants had used plants from the Rutaceae family (like lemon and oranges), followed by those of Amaryllidaceous (namely, Garlic and Onion). Participants said that physicians and pharmacists were the primary sources of information about phytotherapy (n=107, 37.3%), and their decision was driven by their positive attitude towards herbal medicine or plant-based products (n=133, 46.3%). Many participants did not notice any side effects of these remedies (n=270, 94%) and believed they were effective (n = 184, 64%). This study provides an overview of the many phytotherapeutic remedies used in the era of COVID-19 by Jordanian society, which could prompt the conduction of interventional trials to assess the effectiveness and safety of this modality of therapy, either as a stand-alone or adjuvant treatment. © 2021 the authors.

The Effect of Lockdown on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Outbreak Prevention in Jordan: A Data-Driven Analysis

COVID-19 appears in Wuhan in December 2019 and spread all around the world including Jordan. Jordan set successful example in dealing with covid-19 crisis, with its low number of deaths, increased recovery cases and decreased cases of infections in comparison with Middle East and surrounding countries. It succeeded in eliminating the virus outbreak throughout the Kingdom in record time. This paper first describes the stages of Jordan’s handling of the Corona pandemic (COVID-19) and how the pandemic controlling has been impacted by governmental and medical efforts, common cooperation, between all organizations in Jordan. Then it studies the effect of lockdown on coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak prevention in Jordan and provides a data-driven analysis. After that, it proposes a lockdown model to prevent the spread of the virus). © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.