The Potential Impact of Ayurvedic Traditional Bhasma on SARS-CoV-2-Induced Pathogenesis

ABSTRACT

The mass casualties caused by the delta variant and the wave of the newer "Omicron" variant of SARS-COV-2 in India have brought about great concern among healthcare officials. The government and healthcare agencies are seeking effective strategies to counter the pandemic. The application of nanotechnology and repurposing of drugs are reported as promising approaches in the management of COVID-19 disease. It has also immensely boomed the search for productive, re-liable, cost-effective, and bio-assimilable alternative solutions. Since ancient times, the traditional-ly employed Ayurvedic bhasmas have been used for diverse infectious diseases, which are now employed as nanomedicine that could be applied for managing COVID-19-related health anomalies. Like currently engineered metal nanoparticles (NPs), the bhasma nanoparticles (BNPs) are also packed with unique physicochemical properties, including multi-elemental nanocrystalline compo-sition, size, shape, dissolution, surface charge, hydrophobicity, and multi-pathway regulatory as well as modulatory effects. Because of these conformational and configurational-based physico-chemical advantages, Bhasma NPs may have promising potential to manage the COVID-19 pandemic and reduce the incidence of pneumonia-like common lung infections in children as well as age-related inflammatory diseases via immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, and adju-vant-related properties.Copyright © 2023 Bentham Science Publishers.