Therapeutic Potential of Traditional Indian Herbal Medicine in COVID-19: A Narrative Review

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become a global challenge to the health care system. A novel agent to combat this deadly virus is still a matter of research. Herbal molecules have served humanity since the beginning. Objectives: This narrative review aims to study the antiviral properties of medicinal plants, which are already effectively used in the past against various viruses. It derives the importance of exploration of such phytochemicals, which can be complementarily used to treat COVID-19. Methods: Studies related to traditional medicine and treatment for viruses were retrieved from databases including PubMed, Google scholar until December 2020 using the keywords SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19, Immunological, Phyto-chemicals, Traditional Medicine. The resulting publications were analyzed to develop a narrative review on the traditional Indian phytochemicals that have been shown to effectively treat various viral infections and potentially treat or prevent COVID-19. Results: Many of the researches are showing that Indian herbal compounds have a significant potential against viral diseases. Plants like Azadirachta indica, Withania somnifera, Tinospora cordifolia, Ocimum basilicum, and many more have been shown tremendous antiviral, anti-inflammatory, and immune-modulatory activities. Conclusion: Phytochemicals obtained from the herbs can be helpful in the treatment and prevention of SARS-CoV-2via various modes such as inhibition of attachment, penetration, uncoating, replication, assembly, and release of respiratory viruses. Further analysis of the potential phytochemicals in treating SARS-CoV-2 in clinical trials is warranted

Medicinal properties of milk thistle with special reference to silymarin– An overview

182-192Milk Thistle, Silybum marianum Gaertn. plant has been used for centuries as a natural remedy for several diseases. Its active constituent, silymarin displays several medicinal properties, viz. antioxidant, hepatoprotective, cytoprotective, amelioration of hepatic collagen accumulation in advanced fibrosis, immunomodulatory activity, etc. Present paper summarizes various research reports on the medicinal properties of the plant with special reference to silymarin

<span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language: EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA" lang="EN-US">Dietary grapes (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Vitis vinifera</i>) feeding attenuates ethanol-induced oxidative stress in blood and modulates immune functions in mice</span>

379-385Ethanol metabolism is known to induce overwhelming production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and also to cause associated immune dysfunction. Several interventional agents of plant origin, in particular fruits and vegetables have been used to counteract these alterations induced by ethanol. In this study, we investigated the efficacy of dietary feeding of skin and flesh of grapes (Vitis vinifera L.) on the alterations in immune and vascular functions in mice with liver abnormalities induced by chronic ethanol consumption. Results revealed that feeding of both grape skin and flesh (2.5 g/kg body wt/day) effectively attenuated the oxidative stress and alterations in immune function and angiogenesis induced by chronic ethanol consumption (1.6 g/kg body wt/day for 12 weeks) in mice. The antioxidant actions of the grape skin and flesh as observed in this study might be attributed to the polyphenols present in the grapes

Effects of long-term ethanol consumption on adhesion molecules in liver

394-401 Adhesion molecules play an important role in the pathogenesis of several diseases. In this study, expression of adhesion molecules was examined in the setting of chronic alcohol induced liver damage of male albino Wistar strain rats (16-18 weeks-old, 200-220 g) in a time dependent manner. Decreased protein level and increased activities of liver marker enzymes in response to the chronic ethanol (1.6 g ethanol/kg body weight/day) exposure, indicated that these animals suffered from liver damage in a time-dependent manner. Flow cytometric analysis revealed that chronic ethanol treatment induced intercellular adhesion molecule-1, vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 and platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 expression in liver tissues of rats with duration of ethanol exposure. The results suggest that the adhesion molecules may be associated with the initiation of hepatic injury during alcohol intoxication. </smarttagtype

Protective effect of resveratrol and vitamin E against ethanol-induced oxidative damage in mice: Biochemical and immunological basis

32-37The metabolism of ethanol gives rise to the generation of excess amounts of reactive oxygen species and is also associated with immune dysfunction. We examined the efficacy of resveratrol and vitamin E on the immunomodulatory activity and vascular function in mice with liver abnormalities induced by chronic ethanol consumption by measuring the protein, liver-specific transaminase enzymes, antioxidant enzymes and non-enzymes such as reduced glutathione (GSH) content, thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) level, nitrite level, and activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione reductase (GR) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and glutathione-S-transferase (GST), and cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-2, IL-4, IL-10, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-, gamma interferon (IFN-), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-A and transforming growth factor (TGF)-1 in mice blood. Ethanol (1.6 g/kg body wt/day) exposure for 12 wks significantly increased TBARS and nitrite levels and GST activity, and significantly decreased GSH content and the activities of SOD, CAT, GR and GPx in whole blood hemolyzate of 8-10 wks-old male BALB/c mice (weighing 20-30 g). Ethanol exposure also elevated the activities of transaminase enzymes (AST and ALT), IL-10, TNF-, IFN-, VEGF-A and TGF-1, while decreasing the albumin concentration and IL-4 activity in the serum. Both resveratrol (5 mg kg-1 day-1) and vitamin E (80 mg kg-1 day-1) treatment significantly reduced AST, ALT, GST, IL-10, TNF-, IFN-, VEGF-A and TGF-1 activities and levels of TBARS and nitrite, and elevated albumin content, GSH level and activities of SOD, CAT, GR and GPx, compared to ethanol-treated group. Thus, results from the study demonstrated that both resveratrol (5 mg kg-1 day-1) and vitamin E (80 mg kg-1 day-1) can effectively ameliorate ethanol (1.6 g kg-1 day-1)-induced oxidative challenges, immunomodulatory activity and angiogenesis processes

Time-dependent effects of ethanol on blood oxidative stress parameters and cytokines

116-121Alcohol consumption is implicated in the genesis of a spectrum of liver abnormalities, which are associated with a number of factors. In the present study, time-dependent effects of ethanol on cytokines (TNF-α, IL-2, IL-4, IL-10, IFN-ϒ, VEGF-A and TGF-β1) in serum, and blood oxidative stress parameters such as reduced glutathione content, TBARS level and activities of GPx, GR, GST, catalase and SOD in 8-10 weeks-old male BALB/c mice have been investigated. Ethanol administered @1.6 g/kg body wt/day significantly increased the activities of liver marker enzymes AST, ALT and ALP. Serum nitrite levels and haemolysate TBARS level also increased, while total antioxidant status in serum and GSH content in whole blood hemolysate decreased from 4th week onwards of exposure. Inspite of the increased serum nitrite level and GST activity in the haemolysate, albumin level in serum, GPx and GR activities in haemolysate decreased after 12 weeks of exposure. Chronic ethanol treatment did not show any effect on IL-2, but IL-4 level was reduced and other cytokines such as IL-10, TNF-α, IFN-ϒ, TGF-β1 and VEGF-A levels were increased significantly after 12 weeks. The study indicates a relationship between free radical generation and immune response, and suggests that ethanol-induced liver damage is associated with oxidative stress and immunological alterations in a time-dependent manner