scholarly journals An assessment of the efficacies and therapeutic interventions of homoeopathic medicines in combating viral disorders with implications in the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19), a global pandemic

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joy Kumar Dey ◽  
Anupam Mukherjee ◽  
Sanjay Kumar Dey ◽  
Mukut Pratap Udayat ◽  
Abhishek Pramanik ◽  
...  

The prevalence of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome- Corona Virus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) has undergone a historic transition from December 2019 to April 2020. Under the current circumstances, SARS-CoV-2 has become a key problem for the public health and economic steadiness of the global fraternity. Based on ample of evidence from the global epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 and MERS-CoV (Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome- Corona virus) scientists and physicians strappingly consider these viruses share structural and functional similarities of selected biologically active enzymes namely, 3CLpro, PLpro and RdRp. Ultra-diluted homoeopathic medicine has the legacy to combat infectious as well as viral diseases since last two centuries. Thus, existing antiviral homoeopathic therapies were meta-analysed in the current study and the need of appropriate clinical validation with proper in vitro as well as in vivo studies prior to make clinical endorsements in treating Covid-19 patients with homoeopathic medicines has been explained.

Author(s):  
Joy Kumar Dey ◽  
Anupam Mukherjee ◽  
Sanjay Kumar Dey ◽  
Abhishek Pramanik ◽  
Shashi Giri ◽  
...  

The prevalence of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome- Corona Virus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) has undergone a historic transition from December 2019 to June 2020. Under the current circumstances, SARS-CoV-2 has become a key problem for the public health and economic steadiness of the global fraternity. Based on ample evidences from the global epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 and MERS-CoV (Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome- Corona virus) scientists and physicians strappingly consider these viruses share structural and functional similarities of selected biologically active enzymes namely, 3CLpro, PLpro and RdRp. Ultra-diluted homoeopathic medicine has the legacy to combat infectious as well as viral diseases since last two centuries. Thus, a systematic review on existing antiviral homoeopathic therapies was done in the current study and the need of appropriate clinical validation with proper in vitro as well as in vivo studies prior to make clinical endorsements in treating Covid-19 patients with homoeopathic medicines has been explained. A brief summary of the currently undergoing or recently completed homoeopathic treatments of COVID-19 has also been provided to attract many more similar homoeopathic treatment attempts to combat COVID-19.


2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (37) ◽  
pp. 4888-4902 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gilda D'Urso ◽  
Sonia Piacente ◽  
Cosimo Pizza ◽  
Paola Montoro

The consumption of berry-type fruits has become very popular in recent years because of their positive effects on human health. Berries are in fact widely known for their health-promoting benefits, including prevention of chronic disease, cardiovascular disease and cancer. Berries are a rich source of bioactive metabolites, such as vitamins, minerals, and phenolic compounds, mainly anthocyanins. Numerous in vitro and in vivo studies recognized the health effects of berries and their function as bioactive modulators of various cell functions associated with oxidative stress. Plants have one of the largest metabolome databases, with over 1200 papers on plant metabolomics published only in the last decade. Mass spectrometry (MS) and NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) are the most important analytical technologies on which the emerging ''omics'' approaches are based. They may provide detection and quantization of thousands of biologically active metabolites from a tissue, working in a ''global'' or ''targeted'' manner, down to ultra-trace levels. In the present review, we highlighted the use of MS and NMR-based strategies and Multivariate Data Analysis for the valorization of berries known for their biological activities, important as food and often used in the preparation of nutraceutical formulations.


1999 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 564-582 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marjorie Murphy Cowan

SUMMARY The use of and search for drugs and dietary supplements derived from plants have accelerated in recent years. Ethnopharmacologists, botanists, microbiologists, and natural-products chemists are combing the Earth for phytochemicals and “leads” which could be developed for treatment of infectious diseases. While 25 to 50% of current pharmaceuticals are derived from plants, none are used as antimicrobials. Traditional healers have long used plants to prevent or cure infectious conditions; Western medicine is trying to duplicate their successes. Plants are rich in a wide variety of secondary metabolites, such as tannins, terpenoids, alkaloids, and flavonoids, which have been found in vitro to have antimicrobial properties. This review attempts to summarize the current status of botanical screening efforts, as well as in vivo studies of their effectiveness and toxicity. The structure and antimicrobial properties of phytochemicals are also addressed. Since many of these compounds are currently available as unregulated botanical preparations and their use by the public is increasing rapidly, clinicians need to consider the consequences of patients self-medicating with these preparations.


Author(s):  
Samira Makanjuola ◽  
Olajuwon Okubena ◽  
Louis Ajonuma ◽  
Adedoyin Dosunmu ◽  
Solomon Umukoro ◽  
...  

The West-African variety of Sorghum bicolor leaf sheath (SBLS) Jobelyn® is a natural remedy, which has gained international recognition for its anti-anemic effect and energy boosting qualities in debilitating diseases. The widespread use of traditional medicine in the region usually confirms its safety, but not its efficacy or deep assessment of their pharmacological properties. The other major issue for herbal-based treatments is the lack of definite and complete information about the composition of the extracts.  Despite limitations, efforts have been made in isolation and characterisation of active compounds in this specie of sorghum showing various subclasses of flavonoids including apigeninidin, a stable 3-deoxyanthocyanidin and potential fungal growth inhibitor, which accounts for 84% of the total extract. Non-clinical in vitro and in vivo studies support previous indications that this variety of Sorghum bicolor possesses several biologically active compounds with potent antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-aging and neuro-protective properties.  Clinical studies show that SBLS has the ability to boost hemoglobin concentrations in anemic conditions and most remarkably to increase CD4 count in HIV-positive patients. The multiple effects and high safety profiles of this extract may encourage its development as a therapeutic agent for the treatment of anemia, chronic inflammatory conditions or in the symptomatic management of HIV infections. This review describes the potential therapeutic aspects of SBLS extract and its potential benefits.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (SPL4) ◽  
pp. 1573-1580
Author(s):  
Savita Belwal ◽  
Sujana Kariveda ◽  
Saritha Ramagiri ◽  
Swathi A ◽  
Shubham Kute ◽  
...  

The green biological route has been employed to convert macro-sized zinc and copper metal complexes into nano-sized metal complexes. These bioactive metal complexes were synthesized by template condensation process in the chemistry laboratory. The newly synthesized biologically active complexes were converted into nano range from phytochemical aqueous extract of Macrotyloma uniflorum (horse gram). Biologically converted nano complexes have been characterized by physicochemical as well as spectroscopic techniques such as UV-visible spectrophotometer and FTIR. The reduced Cu and Zn metal nanoparticles were analyzed with SEM for shape and size, which showed most of the nanoparticles, were nearly spherical with nano range size. To estimate the potentiality of newly manufactured copper and zinc nanoparticles in vitro  and in in vivo  studies, i.e. antifungal and antibacterial and anti-cancer activities were performed. The biogenic nanoparticles of Cu and Zn were evaluated for their activity on cancer A-549 cell lines by standard MTT assay for metabolically active mitochondria and cell viability. Further flow cytometric studies showed Cu, and Zn nano complexes had inhibition efficacy of cancer cells compared to normal cells. This study elevates that biosynthesized Cu & Zn nano complexes can be an alternative for the treatment of cancer.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karolina Beton ◽  
Piotr Wysocki ◽  
Beata Brozek-Pluska

One of the most important areas of medical science is oncology, which is responsible for both the diagnostics and treatment of cancer diseases. Simultaneously one of the main challenges of oncology is the development of modern drugs effective in the fight against cancer. Statins are a group of biologically active compounds with the activity of 3-hydroxy-3-methyl glutaryl-CoA reductase inhibitors, an enzyme catalyzing the reduction of 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-CoA (HMG-CoA) to mevalonic acid. By acting on this enzyme, statins inhibit the endogenous cholesterol synthesis which in turn causes the reduction of its systemic concentrations. However, in vitro and in vivo studies confirm also the cytostatic and cytotoxic effects of statins against various types of cancer cells including colon cancer. In the presented studies the influence of mevastatin on cancerous colon cells CaCo-2 by Raman spectroscopy and imaging is discussed and compared with biochemistry characteristic for normal colon cells CCD-18Co. Based on vibrational features of colon cells: normal cells CCD-18Co, cancerous cells CaCo-2 and cancerous cells CaCo-2 treated by mevastatin in different concentrations and incubation times we have confirm the influence of this statin on biochemistry composition of cancerous human colon cells. Moreover, the spectroscopic results for colon normal cells and cancerous cells based on data typical for nucleic acids, proteins, lipids have been compared. The cytotoxisity of mevastatin was determined by using XTT tests.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Copin ◽  
Alina Baum ◽  
Elzbieta Wloga ◽  
Kristen E. Pascal ◽  
Stephanie Giordano ◽  
...  

SummaryMonoclonal antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 are a clinically validated therapeutic option against COVID-19. As rapidly emerging virus mutants are becoming the next major concern in the fight against the global pandemic, it is imperative that these therapeutic treatments provide coverage against circulating variants and do not contribute to development of treatment emergent resistance. To this end, we investigated the sequence diversity of the spike protein and monitored emergence of minor virus variants in SARS-COV-2 isolates found in nature or identified from preclinical in vitro and in vivo studies and in the clinic. This study demonstrates that a combination of noncompeting antibodies not only provides full coverage against currently circulating variants but also protects against emergence of new such variants and their potential seeding into the population in a clinical setting.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Javad Sharifi-Rad ◽  
Cristina Quispe ◽  
Wissam Zam ◽  
Manoj Kumar ◽  
Susana M. Cardoso ◽  
...  

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are one of the main causes of mortality in the world. The development of these diseases has a specific factor—alteration in blood platelet activation. It has been shown that phenolic compounds have antiplatelet aggregation abilities and a positive impact in the management of CVD, exerting prominent antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antitumor, cardioprotective, antihyperglycemic, and antimicrobial effects. Thus, this review is intended to address the antiplatelet activity of phenolic compounds with special emphasis in preventing CVD, along with the mechanisms of action through which they are able to prevent and treat CVD. In vitro and in vivo studies have shown beneficial effects of phenolic compound-rich plant extracts and isolated compounds against CVD, despite that the scientific literature available on the antiplatelet aggregation ability of phenolic compounds in vivo is scarce. Thus, despite the current advances, further studies are needed to confirm the cardioprotective potential of phenolic compounds towards their use alone or in combination with conventional drugs for effective therapeutic interventions.


2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (8) ◽  
pp. 647-656 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gatta Daniela Maria Pia ◽  
Franceschelli Sara ◽  
Felaco Mario ◽  
Speranza Lorenza

Medicinal plants and their natural bioactive molecules, are evaluated as the foundation for health preservation and care of humanity. The licorice root, known as “Radix Glycyrrhizae”, is a perennial plant that comes from Mediterranean countries, central to southern Russia, Asia, Turkey, Iraq and Iran. The licorice root has been used in traditional Chinese medicines for centuries and has been defined as "the progenitor of herbs". The name 'Licorice' is derived from the ancient Greek word Glukurrhiza, meaning 'sweet root'. It consists of approximately 30 species, however, the most common ones consist of Glycyrrhiza glabra L., Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch and Glycyrrhiza Inflata. In addition, the licorice root contains chalcones, which are a part of an important class of natural products and are precursors of flavonoids. Chemically, chalcones are composed of two aromatic rings associated with α, β-unsaturated α-carbon ketone, representing the prima nucleus of the structure. They have been classified, according to chemical structures, in Licochalcone A, B, C, D, E, F and G. This review aims to highlight all the in vitro and in vivo studies that have been conducted on the licochalcones, extracted from Glycyrrhiza species. The main effects are as follows: anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anticancer, antimicrobial, antiviral, antiallergic, antidiabetic, hepatotoxic and osteogenic. It is important to implement the introduction of biologically active natural molecules from the bench (research) to the bedside (clinical practice). However, in the future, it is required to conduct additional studies to validate these biological effects.


2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 83-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shu-Na Wang ◽  
Chao-Yu Miao

Stroke is the second and the leading most common cause of death in the world and China, respectively, but with few effective therapies. Nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (NAMPT) is the rate-limiting enzyme for nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) salvage synthesis in mammals, thereby influencing NAD-dependent enzymes and constituting a strong endogenous defence system against various stresses. Accumulating in-vitro and in-vivo studies have demonstrated the neuroprotective effect of NAMPT in stroke. Here, we review the direct evidence of NAMPT as a promising target against stroke from five potential therapeutic strategies, including NAMPT overexpression, recombinant NAMPT, NAMPT activators, NAMPT enzymatic product nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN), and NMN precursors nicotinamide riboside and nicotinamide, and describe the relevant mechanisms and limitations, providing a promising choice for developing novel and effective therapeutic interventions against ischaemic and haemorrhagic stroke.


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