São Paulo State University (UNESP), Institute of Biosciences, Department of Chemical and Biological Sciences, Campus Botucatu, Botucatu, Brazil.
J Pharm Pharmacol. 2021 Mar 6;73(3):281-299. doi: 10.1093/jpp/rgaa067.
Viral outbreaks are a frequent concern for humans. A great variety of drugs has been used to treat viral diseases, which are not always safe and effective and may induce adverse effects, indicating the need for new antiviral drugs extracted from natural sources. Propolis is a bee-made product exhibiting many biological properties. An overview of viruses, antiviral immunity, propolis safety and its immunomodulatory and antiviral action is reported, as well as perspectives for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) treatment. PubMed platform was used for data collection, searching for the keywords "propolis", "virus", "antiviral", "antimicrobial" and "coronavirus".
Propolis is safe and exerts antiviral and immunomodulatory activity; however, clinical trials should investigate its effects on individuals with viral diseases, in combination or not with antiviral drugs or vaccines.
Regarding COVID-19, the effects of propolis should be investigated directly on the virus in vitro or on infected individuals alone or in combination with antiviral drugs, due to its immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory action. Propolis administration simultaneously with vaccines should be analyzed, due to its adjuvant properties, to enhance the individuals' immune response. The search for therapeutic targets may be useful to find out how propolis can help to control COVID-19.
病毒爆发是人类经常关注的问题。已经有很多药物被用于治疗病毒疾病，但这些药物并不总是安全有效的，可能会引起不良反应，这表明需要从天然来源提取新的抗病毒药物。蜂胶是一种蜜蜂产生的具有多种生物学特性的产品。本文综述了病毒、抗病毒免疫、蜂胶安全性及其免疫调节和抗病毒作用，以及其在治疗 2019 年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）方面的应用前景。利用 PubMed 平台收集数据，检索关键词“蜂胶”、“病毒”、“抗病毒”、“抗菌”和“冠状病毒”。
蜂胶安全，具有抗病毒和免疫调节作用；然而，临床试验应研究其在患有病毒疾病的个体中的作用，单独或与抗病毒药物或疫苗联合使用。
关于 COVID-19，由于蜂胶具有免疫调节和抗炎作用，应直接在体外或单独或联合使用抗病毒药物对感染个体的病毒进行蜂胶的作用研究。同时应分析蜂胶与疫苗同时给药，因为蜂胶具有佐剂特性，可以增强个体的免疫反应。寻找治疗靶点可能有助于了解蜂胶如何帮助控制 COVID-19。
