Antiviral and immunomodulatory activity of curcumin: A case for prophylactic therapy for COVID-19
Authors
Rajesh Thimmulappa
aDepartment of Biochemistry, JSS Medical College, JSS Academy of Higher Education & Research, Mysore, India
Kiran Mudnakudu-Nagaraju
bDepartment of Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Faculty of Life Sciences, JSS Academy of Higher Education & Research, Mysore, India
Chandan Shivamallu
bDepartment of Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Faculty of Life Sciences, JSS Academy of Higher Education & Research, Mysore, India
KJThirumalai Subramaniam
dCentre of Excellence in Nanoscience & Technology, Department of Pharmaceutics, JSS College of Pharmacy, JSS Academy of Higher Education & Research, Ooty, Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu, India
Arun Radhakrishnan
dCentre of Excellence in Nanoscience & Technology, Department of Pharmaceutics, JSS College of Pharmacy, JSS Academy of Higher Education & Research, Ooty, Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu, India
Suresh Bhojraj
cJSS Academy of Higher Education, Mysore, India
Gowthamarajan Kuppusamy
dCentre of Excellence in Nanoscience & Technology, Department of Pharmaceutics, JSS College of Pharmacy, JSS Academy of Higher Education & Research, Ooty, Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu, India
Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19), a devastating respiratory illness caused by SARS-associated coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), has already affected over 64 million people and caused 1.48 million deaths, just 12 months from the first diagnosis. COVID-19 patients develop serious complications, including severe pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), and or multiorgan failure due to exaggerated host immune response following infection. Currently, drugs that were effective against SARS-CoV are being repurposed for SARS-CoV-2. During this public health emergency, food nutraceuticals could be promising prophylactic therapeutics for COVID-19. Curcumin, a bioactive compound in turmeric, exerts diverse pharmacological activities and is widely used in foods and traditional medicines. This review presents several lines of evidence, which suggest curcumin as a promising prophylactic, therapeutic candidate for COVID-19. First, curcumin exerts antiviral activity against many types of enveloped viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, by multiple mechanisms: direct interaction with viral membrane proteins; disruption of the viral envelope; inhibition of viral proteases; induce host antiviral responses. Second, curcumin protects from lethal pneumonia and ARDS via targeting NF-κB, inflammasome, IL-6 trans signal, and HMGB1 pathways. Third, curcumin is safe and well-tolerated in both healthy and diseased human subjects. In conclusion, accumulated evidence indicates that curcumin may be a potential prophylactic therapeutic for COVID-19 in the clinic and public health settings.
Keywords: COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Curcumin, Antiviral, Immunomodulator, Therapeutics
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