Bioactive Compounds in Alternative Therapeutics against COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a very difficult time for the whole world with utmost challenge and responsibility on the public health sector to provide symptomatic relief and timely treatment. This condition has stimulated immediate research on the mode of transmission and pathogenesis of the viral variants. As the composition of SARS CoV-2 is similar to SARS-CoV by more than 50%, therefore the management of COVID-19 can possibly be done by repurposing the existing drugs used to treat SARS-CoV infection. The management of SARS CoV-2 infection can be performed at the level of control, prophylaxis and treatment. Many bioactive compounds isolated from medicinal plants have been studied for efficacy in controlling COVID-19 infection by either repression of viral host cell adjunction and subsequent penetration or by repression of viral genomic replication. The bioactive compounds target specific viral or host cell molecules in order to control the spread of virus. Another prominent approach is the development of plant-based vaccines to control the COVID-19 infection and associated complications. The literature also provides evidence of some phytonutrients present in the food supplements which are responsible for increasing the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, immuno-stimulatory and anti-viral activities in the host cells. For the purpose of COVID prophylaxis and treatment, these phytonutrients can be administered in appropriate functional doses. The chapter is a compilation of research on SARS CoV-2 with its life cycle, pathogenesis, currently used drugs for treatment, including the synthetic ones and the medical herbs and the specific bioactive compounds found efficacious against COVID-19. 

Keywords: COVID-19, Phytomedicine, Therapeutics, Bioactive compounds, Vaccines, Food supplements.