Phytonutrient and Nutraceutical Action against COVID-19: Current Review of Characteristics and Benefits
1
Department of Medical Affairs, Clinical Research, Mead Johnson Nutrition, Evansville, IN 47721, USA
2
Department of Biotechnology, Institute of Agrochemistry and Food Technology-National Research Council (IATA-CSIC), Agustin Escardino 7, 46980 Paterna, Valencia, Spain
3
Division of Pediatrics and Neonatology, Department of Maternal, Neonatal, and Infant Medicine, Nuovo Ospedale Degli Infermi, 13875 Biella, Italy
4
Neonatology and NICU, Sant’Anna Hospital, AOU Città della Salute e della Scienza, 10136 Torino, Italy
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Nutrients 2021, 13(2), 464; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13020464
Received: 14 November 2020
/
Revised: 20 January 2021
/
Accepted: 26 January 2021
/
Published: 30 January 2021
(This article belongs to the Section Phytochemicals and Human Health)
The trend toward using phytonutrients and/or nutraceuticals (P/Ns) with the aim of impacting immune health has increased in recent years. The main reason is that properties of P/Ns are associated with possible immunomodulating effects in the prevention and complementary treatment of viral diseases, including COVID-19 and other respiratory infections. In the present review, we assess the scientific plausibility of specific P/Ns for this purpose of preventative and therapeutic interventions against COVID-19, with an emphasis on safety, validity, and evidence of efficacy against other viruses. Five potential candidates have been identified after reviewing available studies (in silico, in vitro, and in vivo) in which certain flavonoids have demonstrated a potential for use as adjuvant therapeutic agents against viral infections, including COVID-19. As these are often better tolerated than pharmacological treatments, their use could be more widely considered if additional detailed studies can validate the existing evidence.
View Full-Text
Keywords:
phytonutrients; nutraceutical; flavonoids; immune system; COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited
MDPI and ACS Style
Pastor, N.; Collado, M.C.; Manzoni, P. Phytonutrient and Nutraceutical Action against COVID-19: Current Review of Characteristics and Benefits. Nutrients 2021, 13, 464. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13020464
AMA Style
Pastor N, Collado MC, Manzoni P. Phytonutrient and Nutraceutical Action against COVID-19: Current Review of Characteristics and Benefits. Nutrients. 2021; 13(2):464. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13020464
Chicago/Turabian StylePastor, Nitida, Maria C. Collado, and Paolo Manzoni. 2021. "Phytonutrient and Nutraceutical Action against COVID-19: Current Review of Characteristics and Benefits" Nutrients 13, no. 2: 464. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13020464
Find Other Styles
Note that from the first issue of 2016, MDPI journals use article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.
