Immunomodulator Vitamin C: An Adjuvant Therapy in Second Wave of Coronavirus Disease 2019

Abstract

Since its sudden outbreak in December 2019 in Wuhan, A pandemic of SARS-CoV-2 has been announced. Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin with anti-oxidant and immunity-boosting properties. Vitamin C acts as a nutritional supplement profoundly impacting the immune response to the second or third wave of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Vitamin C efficacy as an adjuvant treatment for inflammation and symptoms associated with COVID-19 infection should be investigated further. This report sheds light on the available information on the current clinical trials and pharmacotherapy related to COVID-19. Information available on Pubmed, EMBASE, Scopus, Web of Science databases and EU clinical trials regarding the use of therapeutic agents in patients with COVID-19 was used to perform analysis. Data was taken from 18 clinical trials available in the U.S. National Library of Medicine. All trials that are active, completed, or in the process of recruiting are included in data. Because of majority of clinical trials are still ongoing, specific results and high-quality clinical evidence are lacking. Before being standardised for use, the protocol must undergo large randomised clinical studies using a variety of existing medications and potential therapies. The pivotal role played by vitamins C in maintaining our immune system, is quite apparent. This review is an attempt to summarize the available information regarding the use of vitamin C as an adjuvant therapy in COVID-19 patients.

Keywords

• coronavirus infection
• vitamin c (ascorbic acid)
• antiviral agents
• severe acute respiratory syndrome