Medicinal Plants, Phytochemicals, and Herbs to Combat Viral Pathogens Including SARS-CoV-2
Arumugam Vijaya Anand,
Balasubramanian Balamuralikrishnan,
Mohandass Kaviya,
Kathirvel Bharathi,
Aluru Parithathvi,
Meyyazhagan Arun,
Nachiappan Senthilkumar,
Shanmugam Velayuthaprabhu,
Muthukrishnan Saradhadevi,
Naif Abdullah Al-Dhabi,
Mariadhas Valan Arasu,
Mohammad Iqbal Yatoo,
Ruchi Tiwari,
Kuldeep Dhama
Affiliations
Arumugam Vijaya Anand
Medical Genetics and Epigenetics Laboratory, Department of Human Genetics and Molecular Biology, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore 641046, India
Balasubramanian Balamuralikrishnan
Department of Food Science and Biotechnology, College of Life Science, Sejong University, Seoul 05006, Korea
Mohandass Kaviya
Medical Genetics and Epigenetics Laboratory, Department of Human Genetics and Molecular Biology, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore 641046, India
Kathirvel Bharathi
Medical Genetics and Epigenetics Laboratory, Department of Human Genetics and Molecular Biology, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore 641046, India
Aluru Parithathvi
Medical Genetics and Epigenetics Laboratory, Department of Human Genetics and Molecular Biology, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore 641046, India
Meyyazhagan Arun
Department of Life Sciences, CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Bengaluru 560029, India
Nachiappan Senthilkumar
Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding (IFGTB), Forest Campus, Cowley Brown Road, RS Puram, Coimbatore 641002, India
Shanmugam Velayuthaprabhu
Department of Biotechnology, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore 641046, India
Muthukrishnan Saradhadevi
Department of Biochemistry, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore 641046, India
Naif Abdullah Al-Dhabi
Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Mariadhas Valan Arasu
Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Mohammad Iqbal Yatoo
Faculty of Veterinary Sciences and Animal Husbandry, Sher-E-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, Shalimar, Srinagar 190006, India
Ruchi Tiwari
Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Immunology, College of Veterinary Sciences, UP Deen Dayal Upadhayay Pashu Chikitsa Vigyan Vishwavidyalay Evum Go-Anusandhan Sansthan (DUVASU), Mathura 281001, India
Kuldeep Dhama
Division of Pathology, ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Bareilly 243122, India
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.
