Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2021 May 16;13(5):733.
doi: 10.3390/pharmaceutics13050733.

Seaweed Sulfated Polysaccharides against Respiratory Viral Infections

Mehwish Jabeen  1 , Mélody Dutot  2 , Roxane Fagon  2 , Bernard Verrier  1 , Claire Monge  1
Affiliations
Review

Seaweed Sulfated Polysaccharides against Respiratory Viral Infections

Mehwish Jabeen et al. Pharmaceutics. .

Abstract

Respiratory viral infections have been a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Despite massive advancements in the virology field, no specific treatment exists for most respiratory viral infections. Approved therapies against respiratory viruses rely almost exclusively on synthetic drugs that have potential side effects, restricting their use. This review aims to present natural marine sulfated polysaccharides possessing promising antiviral activity against respiratory viruses that could be a safe alternative to synthetic broad-spectrum antiviral drugs. The antiviral properties of marine sulfated polysaccharides are presented according to their mechanism of action on different types and strains of respiratory viruses, and the potential limits of their use are discussed.

Keywords: antiviral activity; approved antivirals; mechanism of action; respiratory virus; seaweed; sulfated polysaccharide.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

M.D. and R.F. are employees of Yslab. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, and in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Symptoms related to viral respiratory tract infections.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Mechanism of action of seaweed sulfated polysaccharides at various stages of the viral cycle.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Tang J.W., Lam T.T., Zaraket H., Lipkin W.I., Drews S.J., Hatchette T.F., Heraud J.M., Koopmans M.P., Abraham A.M., Baraket A., et al. Global Epidemiology of Non-Influenza RNA Respiratory Viruses: Data Gaps and a Growing Need for Surveillance. Lancet Infect. Dis. 2017;17:e320–e326. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(17)30238-4. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Watkins K. Emerging Infectious Diseases: A Review. Curr. Emerg. Hosp. Med. Rep. 2018;6:86–93. doi: 10.1007/s40138-018-0162-9. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Patchett D., Yang J., Northern J., Salinas M., Bauer B.A. Viral Respiratory Infections: An Ounce of Prevention Is Worth a Pound of Cure. Mayo Clin. Proc. Innov. Qual. Outcomes. 2021;5:480–485. doi: 10.1016/j.mayocpiqo.2020.12.008. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Nicola M., Alsafi Z., Sohrabi C., Kerwan A., Al-Jabir A., Iosifidis C., Agha M., Agha R. The Socio-Economic Implications of the Coronavirus Pandemic (COVID-19): A Review. Int. J. Surg. 2020;78:185–193. doi: 10.1016/j.ijsu.2020.04.018. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. World Health Organization Research Needs for the Battle against Respiratory Viruses (BRaVe) Future Virol. 2013:1–42.

LinkOut - more resources