Title:Exploitation of Some Natural Products for the Prevention and/or Nutritional Treatment of SARS-CoV2 Infection
Volume: 21
Issue: 7
Author(s): Annalisa Rizzo, Raffaele L. Sciorsci, Thea Magrone and Emilio Jirillo*
Affiliation:
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience and Sensory Organs, University of Bari “Aldo Moro”, School of Medicine, Bari,Italy
Keywords:
Extra virgin olive oil, garlic, lupin, salvia, SARS-CoV2, inflamm-ageing.
Abstract: Dietary habits strongly influence our health status, mostly in terms of maintenance of
the inflammatory/anti-inflammatory homeostasis. High fat and high sugar diets account for the development
of a low-grade inflammation, which is the pathogenic common denominator of various
chronic diseases. Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (SARS)-CoV2 (COVID-19) infection
affects all ages and especially frail elderly people and a nutritional intervention seems to be
crucial in the course of this pandemic. The present review describes the properties of some vegetal
products and their derivatives, such as Lupin sp., garlic, salvia and extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
that can be exploited for their beneficial effects, as preventive and/or nutritional treatment of coronavirus
disease SARS-CoV2. Lupin, salvia, garlic and EVOO share overlapping properties, such as
anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-viral activities. Quite importantly, these products and their
derivatives are able to recover the expression of angiotensin converting enzyme expression 2 on
cell membrane, otherwise suppressed by COVID-19 binding and entry into cytoplasm. Dietary administration
of the above nutraceuticals or their extracts may play a preventive or nutritional role in
the course of SARS-CoV2 infection, even including the effects of the lockdown and the condition
of inflamm-ageing.
