Plant-Derived Food Grade Substances (PDFGS) Active Against Respiratory Viruses: A Systematic Review of Non-clinical Studies
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Date
2021-01-09
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Frontiers in Nutrition
Abstract
Human diet comprises several classes of phytochemicals some of which are potentially
active against human pathogenic viruses. This study examined available evidence that
identifies existing food plants or constituents of edible foods that have been reported
to inhibit viral pathogenesis of the human respiratory tract. SCOPUS and PUBMED
databases were searched with keywords designed to retrieve articles that investigated
the effect of plant-derived food grade substances (PDFGS) on the activities of human
pathogenic viruses. Eligible studies for this review were those done on viruses that infect
the human respiratory tract. Forty six (46) studies met the specified inclusion criteria from
the initial 5,734 hits. The selected studies investigated the effects of different PDFGS
on the infectivity, proliferation and cytotoxicity of different respiratory viruses including
influenza A virus (IAV), influenza B virus (IBV), Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), human
parainfluenza virus (hPIV), Human coronavirus NL63 (HCoV-NL63), and rhinovirus (RV)
in cell lines and mouse models. This review reveals that PDFGS inhibits different stages
of the pathological pathways of respiratory viruses including cell entry, replication, viral
release and viral-induced dysregulation of cellular homeostasis and functions. These
alterations eventually lead to the reduction of virus titer, viral-induced cellular damages
and improved survival of host cells. Major food constituents active against respiratory
viruses include flavonoids, phenolic acids, tannins, lectins, vitamin D, curcumin, and plant
glycosides such as glycyrrhizin, acteoside, geniposide, and iridoid glycosides. Herbal
teas such as guava tea, green and black tea, adlay tea, cistanche tea, kuding tea, licorice
extracts, and edible bird nest extracts were also effective against respiratory viruses in
vitro. The authors of this review recommend an increased consumption of foods rich in
these PDFGS including legumes, fruits (e.g berries, citrus), tea, fatty fish and curcumin
amongst human populations with high prevalence of respiratory viral infections in order
to prevent, manage and/or reduce the severity of respiratory virus infections.
Description
Keywords
IAV, RSV, HCoV, Antiviral agent, Respiratory Tract Infection (RTI), functional foods, Viral lifecyle, polyphenols, ACE: Public Health and Toxicological Research, ACE-PUTOR, University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria
Citation
Umeoguaju FU, Ephraim-Emmanuel BC, Patrick-Iwuanyanwu KC, Zelikoff JT and Orisakwe OE (2021) Plant-Derived Food Grade Substances (PDFGS) Active Against Respiratory Viruses: A Systematic Review of Non-clinical Studies. Front. Nutr. 8:606782. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2021.606782