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Review
. 2022 Dec;46(12):e14472.
doi: 10.1111/jfbc.14472. Epub 2022 Oct 14.

Amazonian fruits with potential effects on COVID-19 by inflammaging modulation: A narrative review

Maria F Manica-Cattani  1   2 , Ana L Hoefel  2 , Verônica F Azzolin  1 , Marco A Echart Montano  1 , Ivo E da Cruz Jung  1 , Euler E Ribeiro  1 , Vitória F Azzolin  1 , Ivana B M da Cruz  3   4
Affiliations
Review

Amazonian fruits with potential effects on COVID-19 by inflammaging modulation: A narrative review

Maria F Manica-Cattani et al. J Food Biochem. 2022 Dec.

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic had a great impact on the mortality of older adults and, chronic non- transmissible diseases (CNTDs) patients, likely previous inflammaging condition that is common in these subjects. It is possible that functional foods could attenuate viral infection conditions such as SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2), the causal agent of COVID-19 pandemic. Previous evidence suggested that some fruits consumed by Amazonian Diet from Pre-Colombian times could present relevant proprieties to decrease of COVID-19 complications such as oxidative-cytokine storm. In this narrative review we identified five potential Amazonian fruits: açai berry (Euterpe oleracea), camu-camu (Myrciaria dubia), cocoa (Theobroma cacao), Brazil nuts (Bertholletia excelsa), and guaraná (Paullinia cupana). Data showed that these Amazonian fruits present antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and other immunomodulatory activities that could attenuate the impact of inflammaging states that potentially decrease the evolution of COVID-19 complications. The evidence compiled here supports the complementary experimental and clinical studies exploring these fruits as nutritional supplement during COVID-19 infection. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: These fruits, in their natural form, are often limited to their region, or exported to other places in the form of frozen pulp or powder. But there are already some companies producing food supplements in the form of capsules, in the form of oils and even functional foods enriched with these fruits. This practice is common in Brazil and tends to expand to the international market.

Keywords: Brazil nuts; COVID-19; amazon fruits; açai berry; camu-camu; cocoa; guarana.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare they have no conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Main biochemical and cellular events related to establishment of low‐grade chronic inflammatory states common in older adults and chronic‐noncommunicable diseases (CNTDs) patients which could contribute to clinical complications associated with COVID‐19 infection. The numbers in the figure identify the main events related to the establishment of chronic low‐grade inflammation that are described in the text
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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