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. 2023 Aug 9;11(3):105.
doi: 10.3390/diseases11030105.

A Mixture of Essential Oils from Three Cretan Aromatic Plants Inhibits SARS-CoV-2 Proliferation: A Proof-of-Concept Intervention Study in Ambulatory Patients

Christos Lionis  1   2 , Elena Petelos  1   3 , Manolis Linardakis  1 , Athanasios Diamantakis  1 , Emmanouil Symvoulakis  1 , Maria-Nefeli Karkana  1 , Marilena Kampa  4 , Stergios A Pirintsos  5   6 , George Sourvinos  7 , Elias Castanas  4
Affiliations

A Mixture of Essential Oils from Three Cretan Aromatic Plants Inhibits SARS-CoV-2 Proliferation: A Proof-of-Concept Intervention Study in Ambulatory Patients

Christos Lionis et al. Diseases. .

Abstract

Introduction: The need for effective therapeutic regimens for non-critically ill patients during the COVID-19 pandemic remained largely unmet. Previous work has shown that a combination of three aromatic plants' essential oils (CAPeo) (Thymbra capitata (L.) Cav., Origanum dictamnus L., Salvia fruticose Mill.) has remarkable in vitro antiviral activity. Given its properties, it was urgent to explore its potential in treating mild COVID-19 patients in primary care settings.

Methods: A total of 69 adult patients were included in a clinical proof-of-concept (PoC) intervention study. Family physicians implemented the observational study in two arms (intervention group and control group) during three study periods (IG2020, n=13, IG2021/22, n=25, and CG2021/22, n=31). The SARS-CoV-2 infection was confirmed by real-time PCR. The CAPeo mixture was administered daily for 14 days per os in the intervention group, while the control group received usual care.

Results: The PoC study found that the number and frequency of general symptoms, including general fatigue, weakness, fever, and myalgia, decreased following CAPeo administration. By Day 7, the average presence (number) of symptoms decreased in comparison with Day 1 in IG (4.7 to 1.4) as well as in CG (4.0 to 3.1), representing a significant decrease in the cumulative presence in IC (-3.3 vs. -0.9, p < 0.001; η2 = 0.20) on Day 7 and on Day 14 (-4.2 vs. -2.9, p = 0.027; η2 = 0.08).

Discussion/conclusions: Our findings suggest that CAPeo possesses potent antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2 in addition tο its effect against influenza A and B and human rhinovirus HRV14 strains. The early and effective impact on alleviating key symptoms of COVID-19 may suggest this mixture can act as a complementary natural agent for patients with mild COVID-19.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; effectiveness; essential oils; natural products.

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Conflict of interest statement

Intellectual royalties (that are given to any inventor) are provided to CL, EC, and SAP. No commercial or other association exists with this Greek company.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Recruitment flowchart of COVID-19 patients and randomization in intervention (IG) and control (CG) groups.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Hierarchical frequency of the presence (%) of the 12 local symptoms in intervention (IG) and control (CG) groups.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Hierarchical frequency of the presence (%) of the 9 general symptoms in intervention (IG) and control (CG) groups.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Percentage changes in number and severity of symptoms on the 7th day compared with the 1st (baseline) in intervention (IG) and control (CG) groups.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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