Editorial: A context of diabetes, exercise physiology, ethnobiology of traditional medicine, surveillance of viral infections and academic rendering of histopharmacology

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become a global challenge to the health care system. A novel agent to combat this deadly virus is still a matter of research. Herbal molecules have served humanity since the beginning. Objectives: This narrative review aims to study the antiviral properties of medicinal plants, which are already effectively used in the past against various viruses. It derives the importance of exploration of such phytochemicals, which can be complementarily used to treat COVID-19. Methods: Studies related to traditional medicine and treatment for viruses were retrieved from databases including PubMed, Google scholar until December 2020 using the keywords SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19, Immunological, Phyto-chemicals, Traditional Medicine. The resulting publications were analyzed to develop a narrative review on the traditional Indian phytochemicals that have been shown to effectively treat various viral infections and potentially treat or prevent COVID-19. Results: Many of the researches are showing that Indian herbal compounds have a significant potential against viral diseases. Plants like Azadirachta indica, Withania somnifera, Tinospora cordifolia, Ocimum basilicum, and many more have been shown tremendous antiviral, anti-inflammatory, and immune-modulatory activities. Conclusion: Phytochemicals obtained from the herbs can be helpful in the treatment and prevention of SARS-CoV-2via various modes such as inhibition of attachment, penetration, uncoating, replication, assembly, and release of respiratory viruses. Further analysis of the potential phytochemicals in treating SARS-CoV-2 in clinical trials is warranted.

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The Diagnosis of Viral Disease by Electron Microscopy

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s042482010005398x ◽

1982 ◽

Vol 40 ◽

pp. 270-273

Author(s):

William B. McCombs ◽

Cameron E. McCoy

Keyword(s):

Electron Microscopy ◽

Hospital Stay ◽

Viral Infections ◽

Medical Profession ◽

Bacterial Pathogens ◽

Viral Disease ◽

Viral Pathogens ◽

Academic Interest ◽

The Past

Recent years have brought a reversal in the attitude of the medical profession toward the diagnosis of viral infections. Identification of bacterial pathogens was formerly thought to be faster than identification of viral pathogens. Viral identification was dismissed as being of academic interest or for confirming the presence of an epidemic, because the patient would recover or die before this could be accomplished. In the past 10 years, the goal of virologists has been to present the clinician with a viral identification in a matter of hours. This fast diagnosis has the potential for shortening the patient's hospital stay and preventing the administering of toxic and/or expensive antibiotics of no benefit to the patient.

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Detection of Nucleic Acids in Cells or Tissue Sections Using In situ Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100162545 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 54 ◽

pp. 16-17

Author(s):

J. R. Hully ◽

K. R. Luehrsen ◽

K. Aoyagi ◽

C. Shoemaker ◽

R. Abramson

Keyword(s):

Nucleic Acids ◽

Viral Infections ◽

Anatomical Location ◽

Rt Pcr ◽

Reverse Transcription Pcr ◽

Cellular Source ◽

Gene Transcripts ◽

Initial Description ◽

In Cells

The development of PCR technology has greatly accelerated medical research at the genetic and molecular levels. Until recently, the inherent sensitivity of this technique has been limited to isolated preparations of nucleic acids which lack or at best have limited morphological information. With the obvious exception of cell lines, traditional PCR or reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) cannot identify the cellular source of the amplified product. In contrast, in situ hybridization (ISH) by definition, defines the anatomical location of a gene and/or it’s product. However, this technique lacks the sensitivity of PCR and cannot routinely detect less than 10 to 20 copies per cell. Consequently, the localization of rare transcripts, latent viral infections, foreign or altered genes cannot be identified by this technique. In situ PCR or in situ RT-PCR is a combination of the two techniques, exploiting the sensitivity of PCR and the anatomical definition provided by ISH. Since it’s initial description considerable advances have been made in the application of in situ PCR, improvements in protocols, and the development of hardware dedicated to in situ PCR using conventional microscope slides. Our understanding of the importance of viral latency or viral burden in regards to HIV, HPV, and KSHV infections has benefited from this technique, enabling detection of single viral copies in cells or tissue otherwise thought to be normal. Clearly, this technique will be useful tool in pathobiology especially carcinogenesis, gene therapy and manipulations, the study of rare gene transcripts, and forensics.

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