Ashwagandha can help fight COVID-19, claims study

May 18, 2020 19:13

Ayurvedic herb Ashwagandha can be an effective therapeutic and preventive drug against the COVID-19 infection, a collaborative research by IIT-Delhi and Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology has found.

The natural compounds from Ashwagandha and Propolis have the potential to be an effective novel coronavirus preventive drug, according to the research team.

"The researchers targeted the main SARS-CoV-2's enzyme for splitting proteins, known as the main protease (Mpro), that plays a key role in mediating viral replication. This is an attractive drug target for this virus, and as humans don't naturally have this enzyme, compounds that target Mpro are likely to have low toxicity," said D Sundar, head of the Delhi Indian Institute of Technology's Biotechnology department.

"The findings may not only connect to save time and cost required for screening for anti-COVID-19 drugs, but may also offer some preventive and therapeutic value for the management of fatal COVID-19 pandemic, and hence, warrant prioritized validation in the laboratory and clinical tests," he said.

The drug's development may take some time, and in the current scenario, these natural resources -- Ashwagandha and Propolis -- can offer some preventive or even therapeutic value, according to Sundar.

He said that "although these are easily available and affordable, one has to be cautious about the content of bioactive ingredients. CAPE, while is a major component of propolis, its amount and stability are critical factors that could be managed by generating its complex with cyclodextrins".

"Withanone, on the other hand, varies with geography, parts and size of the Ashwagandha plant. So, in order to acquire or appreciate particular effects, we must use the right and quality-controlled resource and extracts," Sundar said.

The government has also initiated a study on whether Ashwagandha can be an alternative to anti-malarial drug Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) as a potential COVID-19 preventive.

The study is being carried out by a group of scientists and researchers from the Ministry of AYUSH, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the University Grants Commission and the Indian Council of Medical Research.

"While new line of drug and vaccine development have been initiated worldwide, in the current scenario of high infected numbers, severity of the disease and high morbidity, repurposing of the existing drugs are heavily explored by recruiting integrative genomics and bioinformatics research tools," Sundar said. -- PTI

« Back to LIVE

TOP STORIES

LIVE! Shinde gets 3 Maharashtra portfolios, but not Home

Govt tweaks election rule; why is ECI afraid, asks Cong

Based on the recommendation of the Election Commission (EC), the Union law ministry on Friday amended Rule 93(2)(a) of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, to restrict the type of "papers" or documents open to public inspection.

Character assassination: Allu Arjun on stampede row

Hours after Reddy slammed the actor for holding a roadshow and waving to the crowds at the theatre, without referring to anyone, the 'Pushpa 2' star refuted the allegations and said it was not a procession or a roadshow.

Trudeau in trouble as ally vows to 'bring him down'

The future of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's leadership appears increasingly uncertain after New Democratic Party (NDP) leader Jagmeet Singh, a key ally, said he would introduce a motion to topple the minority Liberal...

Ferry passengers planned throwing kids into sea: CISF

A team of CISF marine commandos rescued dozens of passengers from a sinking tourist ferry off the Mumbai coast, preventing panicked parents from throwing their children into the sea. The commandos reached the accident site within minutes...