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Review
. 2023 Jan;13(1):79-87.
doi: 10.34172/apb.2023.006. Epub 2021 Oct 2.

Natural Immunomodulators Treat the Cytokine Storm in SARS-CoV-2

Heba Salah Abbas  1 , Mona Mohame Abd-Elhakeem  2 , Rania Mostafa Abd El Galil  3 , Omar Ahmed Reyad  4 , Heba Ahmed Mohamed  5 , Salma Emad Saber Ismail  6 , Manal Ahmed Nabil  7
Affiliations
Review

Natural Immunomodulators Treat the Cytokine Storm in SARS-CoV-2

Heba Salah Abbas et al. Adv Pharm Bull. 2023 Jan.

Abstract

Recently, the world has been dealing with a destructive global pandemic Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection, since 2020; there were millions of infections and hundreds of thousands of deaths worldwide. With sequencing generations of the virus, around 60% are expected to become infected during the pandemic. Unfortunately, no drug or vaccine has been approved because no real evidence from clinical trials in treatment was reached. According to current thinking, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) mortality is caused by a cytokine storm syndrome in patients with hyper-inflammatory conditions, resulting in acute respiratory distress and finally death. In this review, we discuss the various types of natural immune-modulatory agents and their role in the management of SARS-CoV-2, and cytokine storm syndrome. For example, Polyphenols as natural products can block the binding of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein to host cell receptor ACE2, stop viral entry into the host cell and block viral RNA replication. Also, saikosaponins (A, B2, C, and D), triterpene glycosides, which are isolated from medicinal plants exert antiviral action against HCoV-22E9, and Houttuynia cordata water extract has antiviral effects on SARS-CoV. Moreover, eucalyptus oil has promising potential for COVID-19 prevention and treatment. There is an urgent need for research to improve the function of the human immune system all over the world. As a result, actions for better understanding and improving the human immune system are critical steps toward mitigating risks and negative outcomes. These approaches will be strongly recommended for future emerging viruses and pathogens.

Keywords: Cytokine storm syndrome; Lactoferrin; Medicinal plants and essential oils; Polyphenols; SARS-COV-2; Zinc treatment.

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