The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): Key Emphasis on Melatonin Safety and Therapeutic Efficacy
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Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
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Faculty of Health Sciences, University Camilo José Cela, C/Castillo de Alarcón 49, Villanueva de la Cañada, 28692 Madrid, Spain
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Neuropsychopharmacology Unit, Hospital 12 de Octubre Research Institute (i + 12), Avda. Córdoba, s/n, 28041 Madrid, Spain
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Portucalense Institute of Neuropsychology and Cognitive and Behavioural Neurosciences (INPP), Portucalense University, R. Dr. António Bernardino de Almeida 541, 4200-072 Porto, Portugal
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Thematic Network for Cooperative Health Research (RETICS), Addictive Disorders Network, Health Institute Carlos III, MICINN and FEDER, 28029 Madrid, Spain
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Nutrition, Food & Plant Science Group NF1, Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Immunology, Faculty of Biology, University of Vigo, 36310 Vigo, Spain
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Health Research Institute, Hospital Universitario de la Princesa, 28006 Madrid, Spain
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Molecular Neuroinflammation and Neuronal Plasticity Research Laboratory, Hospital Universitario Santa Cristina, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria-Hospital Universitario de la Princesa, 28006 Madrid, Spain
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Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutic, Teófilo Hernando Institute, Faculty of Medicine, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Av. Arzobispo Morcillo 4, 28029 Madrid, Spain
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Ramón y Cajal Institute for Health Research (IRYCIS), Hospital Ramón y Cajal, Carretera de Colmenar Viejo, Km. 9100, 28029 Madrid, Spain
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Department of Biotechnology, Graphic Era University, Dehradun, Uttarakhand 248002, India
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Uttarakhand State Council for Science and Technology, Dehradun, Uttarakhand 248007, India
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Faculty of Medicine, Institute for Research and Innovation in Health (i3S), University of Porto, Alameda Prof. Hernâni Monteiro, 4200-319 Porto, Portugal
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Institute for Research and Advanced Training in Health Sciences and Technologies, Cooperativa de Ensino Superior Politécnico e Universitário (CESPU), Rua Central de Gandra, 1317, 4585-116 Gandra, Portugal
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Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Academic Editors: Helen Galley and Juan Carlos Mayo
Antioxidants 2021, 10(7), 1152; https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox10071152
Received: 19 June 2021 / Accepted: 14 July 2021 / Published: 20 July 2021
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Melatonin and Related Compounds: Antioxidant and Inflammatory Actions)
Viral infections constitute a tectonic convulsion in the normophysiology of the hosts. The current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is not an exception, and therefore the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, like any other invading microbe, enacts a generalized immune response once the virus contacts the body. Melatonin is a systemic dealer that does not overlook any homeostasis disturbance, which consequently brings into play its cooperative triad, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and immune-stimulant backbone, to stop the infective cycle of SARS-CoV-2 or any other endogenous or exogenous threat. In COVID-19, the corporal propagation of SARS-CoV-2 involves an exacerbated oxidative activity and therefore the overproduction of great amounts of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS). The endorsement of melatonin as a possible protective agent against the current pandemic is indirectly supported by its widely demonstrated beneficial role in preclinical and clinical studies of other respiratory diseases. In addition, focusing the therapeutic action on strengthening the host protection responses in critical phases of the infective cycle makes it likely that multi-tasking melatonin will provide multi-protection, maintaining its efficacy against the virus variants that are already emerging and will emerge as long as SARS-CoV-2 continues to circulate among us.
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Keywords:
melatonin; SARS-CoV-2; safety; adjuvant therapy; mitochondria; inflammation; antioxidant; circadian rhythms; clinical trials
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
Ramos, E.; López-Muñoz, F.; Gil-Martín, E.; Egea, J.; Álvarez-Merz, I.; Painuli, S.; Semwal, P.; Martins, N.; Hernández-Guijo, J.M.; Romero, A. The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): Key Emphasis on Melatonin Safety and Therapeutic Efficacy. Antioxidants 2021, 10, 1152. https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox10071152
AMA Style
Ramos E, López-Muñoz F, Gil-Martín E, Egea J, Álvarez-Merz I, Painuli S, Semwal P, Martins N, Hernández-Guijo JM, Romero A. The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): Key Emphasis on Melatonin Safety and Therapeutic Efficacy. Antioxidants. 2021; 10(7):1152. https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox10071152
Chicago/Turabian StyleRamos, Eva, Francisco López-Muñoz, Emilio Gil-Martín, Javier Egea, Iris Álvarez-Merz, Sakshi Painuli, Prabhakar Semwal, Natália Martins, Jesús M. Hernández-Guijo, and Alejandro Romero. 2021. "The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): Key Emphasis on Melatonin Safety and Therapeutic Efficacy" Antioxidants 10, no. 7: 1152. https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox10071152
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