Medical Genetics and Epigenetics Laboratory, Department of Human Genetics and Molecular Biology, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore 641046, India.
Department of Food Science and Biotechnology, College of Life Science, Sejong University, Seoul 05006, Korea.
Molecules. 2021 Mar 22;26(6):1775. doi: 10.3390/molecules26061775.
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), is the most important health issue, internationally. With no specific and effective antiviral therapy for COVID-19, new or repurposed antiviral are urgently needed. Phytochemicals pose a ray of hope for human health during this pandemic, and a great deal of research is concentrated on it. Phytochemicals have been used as antiviral agents against several viruses since they could inhibit several viruses via different mechanisms of direct inhibition either at the viral entry point or the replication stages and via immunomodulation potentials. Recent evidence also suggests that some plants and its components have shown promising antiviral properties against SARS-CoV-2. This review summarizes certain phytochemical agents along with their mode of actions and potential antiviral activities against important viral pathogens. A special focus has been given on medicinal plants and their extracts as well as herbs which have shown promising results to combat SARS-CoV-2 infection and can be useful in treating patients with COVID-19 as alternatives for treatment under phytotherapy approaches during this devastating pandemic situation.
新型冠状病毒病（COVID-19）大流行是由严重急性呼吸系统综合征冠状病毒 2 型（SARS-CoV-2）引起的，这是国际上最重要的健康问题。由于目前尚无针对 COVID-19 的特效抗病毒疗法，因此急需新型或重新定位的抗病毒药物。在这场大流行期间，植物化学物质为人类健康带来了一线希望，大量研究都集中在这方面。植物化学物质已被用作针对多种病毒的抗病毒药物，因为它们可以通过不同的机制直接抑制病毒，要么在病毒进入点，要么在复制阶段，并通过免疫调节潜力。最近的证据还表明，一些植物及其成分对 SARS-CoV-2 表现出有希望的抗病毒特性。本文综述了某些植物化学物质及其作用方式，以及它们针对重要病毒病原体的潜在抗病毒活性。特别关注了药用植物及其提取物以及草药，它们在对抗 SARS-CoV-2 感染方面显示出有希望的结果，并可作为 COVID-19 患者治疗的替代方法，在这种破坏性大流行情况下，作为植物疗法方法的治疗选择。
