Immunomodulatory activity of ether insoluble phenolic components of n-butanol fraction (EPC-BF) of flaxseed in rat

Indian Medicinal Plants and Formulations and Their Potential Against COVID-19-Preclinical and Clinical Research

The cases of COVID-19 are still increasing day-by-day worldwide, even after a year of its first occurrence in Wuhan city of China. The spreading of SARS-CoV-2 infection is very fast and different from other SARS-CoV infections possibly due to structural differences in S proteins. The patients with severe diseases may die due to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) caused by systemic inflammatory reactions due to the excessive release of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines by the immune effector cells. In India too, it is spreading very rapidly, although the case fatality rate is below 1.50% (https://www.statista.com), which is markedly less than in other countries, despite the dense population and minimal health infrastructure in rural areas. This may be due to the routine use of many immunomodulator medicinal plants and traditional AYUSH formulations by the Indian people. This communication reviews the AYUSH recommended formulations and their ingredients, routinely used medicinal plants and formulations by Indian population as well as other promising Indian medicinal plants, which can be tested against COVID-19. Special emphasis is placed on Indian medicinal plants reported for antiviral, immunomodulatory and anti-allergic/anti-inflammatory activities and they are categorized for prioritization in research on the basis of earlier reports. The traditional AYUSH medicines currently under clinical trials against COVID-19 are also discussed as well as furtherance of pre-clinical and clinical testing of the potential traditional medicines against COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2. The results of the clinical studies on AYUSH drugs will guide the policymakers from the AYUSH systems of medicines to maneuver their policies for public health, provide information to the global scientific community and could form a platform for collaborative studies at national and global levels. It is thereby suggested that promising AYUSH formulations and Indian medicinal plants must be investigated on a priority basis to solve the current crisis.

Plant-Derived Nutraceuticals and Immune System Modulation: An Evidence-Based Overview

Immunomodulators are agents able to affect the immune system, by boosting the immune defences to improve the body reaction against infectious or exogenous injuries, or suppressing the abnormal immune response occurring in immune disorders. Moreover, immunoadjuvants can support immune system acting on nonimmune targets, thus improving the immune response. The modulation of inflammatory pathways and microbiome can also contribute to control the immune function. Some plant-based nutraceuticals have been studied as possible immunomodulating agents due to their multiple and pleiotropic effects. Being usually more tolerable than pharmacological treatments, their adjuvant contribution is approached as a desirable nutraceutical strategy. In the present review, the up to date knowledge about the immunomodulating properties of polysaccharides, fatty acids and labdane diterpenes have been analyzed, in order to give scientific basic and clinical evidence to support their practical use. Since promising evidence in preclinical studies, limited and sometimes confusing results have been highlighted in clinical trials, likely due to low methodological quality and lacking standardization. More investigations of high quality and specificity are required to describe in depth the usefulness of these plant-derived nutraceuticals in the immune system modulation, for health promoting and disease preventing purposes.