Tag: herbs

Culinary spices and herbs in managing early and long-COVID-19 complications: A comprehensive review

Abstract:

Human race is preparing for the upsurge and aftermath of COVID-19 pandemic complicated by novel variants, new waves, variable mortality rate, and post-COVID complications. Despite use of repurposed drugs, symptomatic treatments and licensing of multiple vaccines, the daily number of cases and rate of transmission are significant. Culinary spices and herbs have been historically used in pandemic and non-pandemic times to reduce respiratory viral burden. Specific food items and culinary spices can boost the levels of protective immunity and also offer therapeutic benefits against impervious bugs via well-known as well as less-known but scientifically testable mechanisms.

Here, we analyzed the phytochemicals profile of Ayurvedic herbs and inferred from the clinical trials/observational studies to provide a focused and succinct perspective on the relevance of “food-based” traditional decoction to moderate COVID-19 disease and long-COVID via modulation of immunity and reinstatement of homeostasis. We also underscore the druggable targets in pathogenesis of COVID-19 which are relevant to the ongoing clinical trials using spices and herbs. This information will provide a strong scientific rationale for standardization of the traditional herbs-based therapies and adopting the use of herbs, spices, and their formulations for reducing SARS-CoV-2 transmission, long-COVID symptoms, and COVID-19 disease progression.

Source: Maurya DK, Sharma D. Culinary spices and herbs in managing early and long-COVID-19 complications: A comprehensive review. Phytother Res. 2023 Jul 19. doi: 10.1002/ptr.7957. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37468320. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37468320/

The potential role of Rhodiola rosea L. extract WS® 1375 for patients with post-COVID-19 fatigue

Abstract:

Fatigue and physical exhaustion are the dominant symptoms of post-coronavirus (COVID-19) conditions that might even develop after only mild acute disease. Post-acute infection syndromes have been observed after various infections, e.g., Coxiella burnetii, Ebola, Dengue, Polio, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), Chikungunya, West Nile Virus, Borrelia, or Giardina lamblia. The similarities in symptoms and courses suggest a high likelihood of common pathogenetic pathways, including persistent infection, autoimmune reactions, dysregulation of the microbiome, inability to repair tissue damage, or endothelial dysfunction.

Some herbal drugs, so-called adaptogens, exert effects resulting in an increase in the resistance or regulatory potential of organisms against biological, chemical and physical burden or stress. Therefore, it seems possible that adaptogens can be helpful in cases of post-COVID-19 symptoms. One of these adaptogens is Rhodiola rosea L. The proprietary ethanolic extract made from roots and rhizomes of Rhodiola rosea WS® 1375 has been reported to modulate neuroinflammation in response to stress stimuli in preclinical models. Moreover, it activated the synthesis or resynthesis of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) in skeletal muscle mitochondria and counteracted muscle fatigue.

In three clinical trials with subjects suffering from burnout symptoms, prolonged or chronic fatigue symptoms or life-stress symptoms, clinically relevant improvements of fatigue and exhaustion were reported over 4 to 12 weeks of treatment at a very favorable tolerability and safety profile in heterogeneous patient populations. In conclusion, Rhodiola rosea extract WS® 1375 has a promising pharmacological and therapeutic profile for the treatment of fatigue and physical exhaustion associated with post-COVID-19 conditions.

Source: Wegener T, Edwards D, Kasper S. The potential role of Rhodiola rosea L. extract WS® 1375 for patients with post-COVID-19 fatigue. hb TIMES Schw Aerztej. 2023;8(1):56-61. doi:10.36000/hbT.2023.09.001 https://schw-aerztej.healthbooktimes.org/article/74319-the-potential-role-of-rhodiola-rosea-l-extract-ws-1375-for-patients-with-post-covid-19-fatigue (Full text)

Recuperative herbal formula Jing Si maintains vasculature permeability balance, regulates inflammation and assuages concomitants of “Long-Covid”

Abstract:

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a worldwide health threat that has long-term effects on the patients and there is currently no efficient cure prescribed for the treatment and the prolonging effects. Traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) have been reported to exert therapeutic effect against COVID-19.

In this study, the therapeutic effects of Jing Si herbal tea (JSHT) against COVID-19 infection and associated long-term effects were evaluated in different in vitro and in vivo models. The anti-inflammatory effects of JSHT were studied in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells and in Omicron pseudotyped virus-induced acute lung injury model. The effect of JSHT on cellular stress was determined in HK-2 proximal tubular cells and H9c2 cardiomyoblasts.

The therapeutic benefits of JSHT on anhedonia and depression symptoms associated with long COVID were evaluated in mice models for unpredictable chronic mild stress (UCMS). JSHT inhibited the NF-ƙB activities, and significantly reduced LPS-induced expression of TNFα, COX-2, NLRP3 inflammasome, and HMGB1. JSHT was also found to significantly suppress the production of NO by reducing iNOS expression in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells.

Further, the protective effects of JSHT on lung tissue were confirmed based on mitigation of lung injury, repression in TMRRSS2 and HMGB-1 expression and reduction of cytokine storm in the Omicron pseudotyped virus-induced acute lung injury model. JSHT treatment in UCMS models also relieved chronic stress and combated depression symptoms. The results therefore show that JSHT attenuates the cytokine storm by repressing NF-κB cascades and provides the protective functions against symptoms associated with long COVID-19 infection.

Source: Chiang CY, Lin YJ, Weng WT, Lin HD, Lu CY, Chen WJ, Shih CY, Lin PY, Lin SZ, Ho TJ, Shibu MA, Huang CY. Recuperative herbal formula Jing Si maintains vasculature permeability balance, regulates inflammation and assuages concomitants of “Long-Covid”. Biomed Pharmacother. 2023 Apr 26;163:114752. doi: 10.1016/j.biopha.2023.114752. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37116351; PMCID: PMC10130602. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10130602/ (Full text)

Ginsenoside Rg1 can reverse fatigue behavior in CFS rats by regulating EGFR and affecting Taurine and Mannose 6-phosphate metabolism

Abstract:

Background: Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is characterized by significant and persistent fatigue. Ginseng is a traditional anti-fatigue Chinese medicine with a long history in Asia, as demonstrated by clinical and experimental studies. Ginsenoside Rg1 is mainly derived from ginseng, and its anti-fatigue metabolic mechanism has not been thoroughly explored.

Methods: We performed non-targeted metabolomics of rat serum using LC-MS and multivariate data analysis to identify potential biomarkers and metabolic pathways. In addition, we implemented network pharmacological analysis to reveal the potential target of ginsenoside Rg1 in CFS rats. The expression levels of target proteins were measured by PCR and Western blotting.

Results: Metabolomics analysis confirmed metabolic disorders in the serum of CFS rats. Ginsenoside Rg1 can regulate metabolic pathways to reverse metabolic biases in CFS rats. We found a total of 34 biomarkers, including key markers Taurine and Mannose 6-phosphate. AKT1, VEGFA and EGFR were identified as anti-fatigue targets of ginsenoside Rg1 using network pharmacological analysis. Finally, biological analysis showed that ginsenoside Rg1 was able to down-regulate the expression of EGFR.

Conclusion: Our results suggest ginsenoside Rg1 has an anti-fatigue effect, impacting the metabolism of Taurine and Mannose 6-phosphate through EGFR regulation. This demonstrates ginsenoside Rg1 is a promising alternative treatment for patients presenting with chronic fatigue syndrome.

Source: Lei C, Chen J, Huang Z, Men Y, Qian Y, Yu M, Xu X, Li L, Zhao X, Jiang Y, Liu Y. Ginsenoside Rg1 can reverse fatigue behavior in CFS rats by regulating EGFR and affecting Taurine and Mannose 6-phosphate metabolism. Front Pharmacol. 2023 Apr 10;14:1163638. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2023.1163638. PMID: 37101547; PMCID: PMC10123289. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10123289/ (Full text)

Potential of Black Seeds (Nigella Sativa) in the Management of Long COVID or Post-acute Sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC) and Persistent COVID-19 Symptoms – An Insight

Abstract:

Background: Some individuals may experience symptoms persisting for many months after the recovery from COVID-19 and patients with Long COVID are managed mainly with symptomatic treatment and supportive care.

Objective: This review article focuses on the beneficial effects of black seeds (Nigella Sativa) in the management of long COVID and persistent COVID symptoms.

Methods: The literature was searched in databases such as LitCOVID, Web of Science, Google Scholar, bioRxiv, medRxiv, Science Direct, EBSCO, Scopus, Embase, and reference lists to identify studies, which evaluated various effects of black seeds (N. sativa) related to signs and symptoms of Long COVID.

Results: Black seeds (N. sativa) have shown potential anti-COVID, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, immunomodulatory, antihypertensive, anti-obesity, antidiabetic, antihyperlipidemic, and antiasthmatic properties in various clinical, animal, in-vitro, in-vivo, and in-silico studies, which would help the patients recovered from COVID to mitigate Long COVID complications.

Conclusion: Patients experiencing Long COVID may use black seeds (N. sativa) as adjunctive therapy in combination with symptomatic treatment and supportive care to prevent further deterioration and hospitalization. The safety and efficacy of N. sativa in patients with Long-COVID would further be established by future randomized controlled clinical trials.

Source: Pakkir Maideen NM, Hassan Jumale A, Ramadan Barakat I, Khalifa Albasti A. Potential of Black Seeds (Nigella Sativa) in the Management of Long COVID or Post-acute Sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC) and Persistent COVID-19 Symptoms – An Insight. Infect Disord Drug Targets. 2023 Feb 23. doi: 10.2174/1871526523666230223112045. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 36825730.

Panax ginseng improves physical recovery and energy utilization on chronic fatigue in rats through the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signalling pathway

Abstract:

Context: Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer (Araliaceae) is a tonic herb used in ancient Asia.

Objective: This study investigated the antifatigue effect of P. ginseng on chronic fatigue rats.

Materials and methods: Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into control, model and EEP (ethanol extraction of P. ginseng roots) (50, 100 and 200 mg/kg) groups (n = 8). The rats were subcutaneously handled with loaded swimming once daily for 26 days, except for the control group. The animals were intragastrically treated with EEP from the 15th day. On day 30, serum, liver and muscles were collected, and the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signalling pathway was evaluated.

Results: The swimming times to exhaust of the rats with EEP were significantly longer than that without it. EEP spared the amount of muscle glycogen, hepatic glycogen and blood sugar under the chronic state. In addition, EEP significantly (p < 0.05) decreased serum triglycerides (1.24 ± 0.17, 1.29 ± 0.04 and 1.20 ± 0.21 vs. 1.58 ± 0.13 mmol/L) and total cholesterol (1.64 ± 0.36, 1.70 ± 0.15 and 1.41 ± 0.19 vs. 2.22 ± 0.19 mmol/L) compared to the model group. Regarding the regulation of energy, EEP had a positive impact on promoting ATPase activities and relative protein expression of the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway.

Conclusions: Our results suggested that EEP effectively relieved chronic fatigue, providing evidence that P. ginseng could be a potential dietary supplement to accelerate recovery from fatigue.

Source: Zhang G, Lu B, Wang E, Wang W, Li Z, Jiao L, Li H, Wu W. Panax ginseng improves physical recovery and energy utilization on chronic fatigue in rats through the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signalling pathway. Pharm Biol. 2023 Dec;61(1):316-323. doi: 10.1080/13880209.2023.2169719. PMID: 36695132; PMCID: PMC9879180. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9879180/ (Full text)

Natural and Semi-Synthetic Flavonoid Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Agents for the Treatment of Long COVID-19 Disease and Neurodegenerative Disorders of Cognitive Decline

Abstract:

The aim of this review is to highlight the beneficial attributes of flavonoids, a diverse family of widely-distributed polyphenolic phytochemicals that have beneficial cell and tissue protective properties. Phytochemicals are widely distributed in plants, herbs and shrubs used in traditional complimentary medical formulations for centuries. The bioactive components that convey beneficial medicinal effects in these complex herbal preparations are now being identified using network pharmacology and molecular docking procedures that identify their molecular targets. Flavonoids have anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antibacterial and anti-cancer properties that have inspired the development of potent multifunctional derivatised flavonoids of improved efficacy.

The antiviral properties of flavonoids and the emergence of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has resulted in a resurgence of interest in phytochemicals in the search for efficacious compounds that can prevent viral infection or replication, with many promising plant compounds identified. Promising semi-synthetic flavonoid derivatives have also been developed that inhibit multiple pathological neurodegenerative processes; these offer considerable promise in the treatment of diseases of cognitive decline. Clinical trials are currently being undertaken to evaluate the efficacy of dietary supplements rich in flavonoids for the treatment of virally-mediated diseases. Such trials are expected to identify flavonoids with cell and tissue protective properties that can be harnessed in biomedical applications that may serve as supportive adjunctive procedures to conventional anti-viral drug therapies against diseases such as COVID-19.

Source: Melrose J, Smith MM. Natural and Semi-Synthetic Flavonoid Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Agents for the Treatment of Long COVID-19 Disease and Neurodegenerative Disorders of Cognitive Decline. Front Biosci (Elite Ed). 2022 Oct 9;14(4):27. doi: 10.31083/j.fbe1404027. PMID: 36575843.  https://www.imrpress.com/journal/FBE/14/4/10.31083/j.fbe1404027/htm (Full text)

Semen raphani weakened the action of ginseng under chronic fatigue condition

Abstract:

Ethnopharmacological relevance: Fatigue is a kind of subhealth status and people paid much more attention on it. Ginseng is used to treating fatigue as a kind of qi -tonifying drug in Chinese medicine. In the traditional applications, there is a viewpoint that ginseng could not be used with semen raphani and supposed that semen raphani is a kind of qi regulating drug, which will reduce the qi invigorating effect of ginseng. However, the underlying combination mechanism of the two drugs remained unclear.

Aim of the study: The aim of this study is to explore whether ginseng can be used with semen raphani or not to remedy acute and chronic fatigue conditions.

Methods: We used normal and weight-bearing swimming method combined with appetite control animals. The biochemical indexes in energy metabolism, antioxidant, regulating endocrine system and immunity capacities were performed to explore the antagonism effect of semen raphani on ginseng under acute and chronic fatigue conditions. The serum and urine metabolomics were investigated using liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC-QTOF/MS). Fecal flora was analyzed via 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing.

Results: The combination of ginseng with semen raphani have no influence on acute fatigue effect compared with ginseng alone. Both can improve the exhausted swimming time, the activity of GSH-Px, LDH and Na+-K+-ATPase. Furthermore, the combination of ginseng with semen raphani can increase the urine volume of rats and down-regulate the content of AQP-3, which can alleviate the “fireness” side-effect of ginseng. But the abundance and diversity of bacterial are decreased under acute fatigue experiment. Both the combination of ginseng with semen raphani and ginseng alone can remedy chronic-fatigue. They can also regulate the endocrine system, immune system, citric acid cycle metabolism, tryptophan metabolism, fatty acid metabolism, glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, etc. Furthermore, they can promote substance metabolism and energy metabolism in qi deficiency rats, and increase the abundance and diversities of the flora. While with the increased content of semen raphani, the combination of ginseng and semen raphani weaken the capacity of antioxidant, lactic acid metabolism, energy metabolism, flora diversity and regulation of endocrine system.

Conclusion: Compared with ginseng alone, the combination of ginseng with semen raphani can weaken the qi invigorating ability under chronic fatigue condition. The more ratios of semen raphani is in the combination of the two drugs, the less the power of treating chronic fatigue is. Compared with ginseng alone, the combination of ginseng with semen raphani have no influence on the qi invigorating ability under actue fatigue experiment. But the combination of ginseng with semen raphani will benefit for the “fireness” side-effect of ginseng.

Source: Wang Y, Ma C, Dou D. Semen raphani weakened the action of ginseng under chronic fatigue condition. J Ethnopharmacol. 2022 Sep 15;295:115352. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2022.115352. Epub 2022 May 19. PMID: 35598795. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35598795/

Challenges of memory enhancers

Abstract:

40 per cent of people over the age of 65 experience some form of memory loss, called as the age related memory impairment. This might be due to hormone and proteins (Growth factors) which repair the brain cells decline with age. Certain conditions such as age, stress, disease and excessive emotional response may lead to loss of memory, loss of learning ability and altered mood and behaviour. These conditions may be treated by using nootropic agents which can help to improve learning abilities and memory.

Source: Chaudhry, Sunil. Challenges of memory enhancers. Annals of Geriatric Education and Medical Sciences; 2020/08/22. https://www.agems.in/article-details/11990 (Full text)

Ginseng for the Treatment of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: A Systematic Review of Clinical Studies

Abstract:

Background: Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a complex and often disabling chronic condition emerging worldwide, with no curative or definitive therapy yet identified. Ginseng has been widely used to treat fatigue in other patient groups and conditions; however, a systematic review focusing solely on the impact of ginseng on fatigue in patients with CFS has not been performed.

Objective: This study aimed to assess the current state of evidence regarding ginseng for CFS.

Methods: Multiple databases were searched from inception to October 2020. All data was extracted independently and in duplicates. Outcomes of interest included the effectiveness and safety of ginseng in patients with CFS.

Results: 2 studies enrolling 68 patients were deemed eligible, including one randomized clinical trial and one prospective observational study. The certainty of evidence in the effectiveness outcome was low and moderate from both studies, while the safety evidence was very low as reported from one study.

Conclusion: Study findings highlight a potential benefit of ginseng therapy in the treatment of CFS. However, we are not able to draw firm conclusions due to limited clinical studies. The paucity of data warrants limited confidence. There is a need for future rigorous studies to provide further evidence.

Source: Yang J, Shin KM, Abu Dabrh AM, Bierle DM, Zhou X, Bauer BA, Mohabbat AB. Ginseng for the Treatment of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: A Systematic Review of Clinical Studies. Glob Adv Health Med. 2022 Feb 14;11:2164957X221079790. doi: 10.1177/2164957X221079790. PMID: 35186446; PMCID: PMC8848096. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8848096/ (Full text)