Natural Products for COVID-19: Prevention and Treatment
A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Natural Products Chemistry".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2022) | Viewed by 25728
Special Issue Editors
2. Instituto de Investigación y Postgrado, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Central de Chile, Santiago 8370292, Chile
Interests: drug delivery systems; medicinal chemistry; natural products
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: pharmacology and toxicology; analytical pharmacognosy; anti inflammatory; phytochemistry; medicinal plant
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Coronaviruses are a large family (subfamily Coronavirinae, order Nidovirales) of viruses which may cause disease in animals or humans. Human coronaviruses—the severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV), Middle East respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus (MERS-CoV), and the most recently discovered coronavirus (COVID-19), which is a type of RNA virus—cause serious viral pneumonitis, leading to hospitalizations and deaths [1]. This virus is considered most contagious when people are symptomatic, though transmission is also probable before symptoms display in patients. Common symptoms include fever, cough, sneezing and shortness of breath. Complications may include pneumonia, throat pain and acute respiratory distress syndrome [2].
This pandemic has caused great human and material losses, and has put health services on serious alert about how to combat such a viral infection on a global scale. While it is true that the development of a cure is progressing at full speed, less attention and effort has been devoted to the prevention of this rapidly spreading respiratory infectious disease. Although several candidate vaccines have so far advanced in clinical trials, limited data on the efficacy and safety of the vaccine in humans have been published, not to mention that the long-term effectiveness of those vaccines remains an open question. Natural products and medicinal herbs have historically been used for acute respiratory infection and show acceptable toxicity. Thus, the most recent advance in the prevention of SARS-CoV-2, including the development of experimental vaccines, comes from the prolonged use of natural products that show an inhibitory effect on the human coronavirus and on the basis of herbs used for COVID-19. The use of isolation techniques for active principles, such as their extracts, synthesis of compounds of natural origin (vegetable and marine), the study and design of drugs and their transport through drug delivery system as a means to administer a vaccine efficient antiviral, will give us an idea of how the large pharmaceutical laboratories are preparing potential vaccines from isolated principles and in combination with natural sources.
We invite authors from all parts of the world to contribute research reviews that evaluate the antiviral effect of medicinal plants and marine drugs. We are particularly interested in manuscripts that describe the assessment of antiviral activity by in vitro, in vivo, in silico and cell-based assays and compile the biological effect by using active molecules from natural sources. This Special Issue provides a venue for authors from various disciplines to disseminate crucial information about the SARS-CoV-2 virus and the effect of natural products with therapeutic application without side effects.
References:
- WHO Q&A on coronaviruses (COVID-19) March 2020, https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/q-a-coronaviruses.
- Pal M. Severe acute respiratory syndrome: A newly recognized viral zoonosis of public health concern. Acta Scientific Microbiology. 2018, 1:1.
The subtopics to be covered within this issue are listed below:
- Perspectives (based on systematic reviews), such as predictions, estimations, comparisons to other viral entities;
- In vivo, in vitro, in silico and cell-based assays on antiviral activity;
- Elucidating the mechanism of action;
- Evidenced-based research and clinical trials on SARS Cov2;
- Drug delivery systems
Prof. Dr. Eduardo Sobarzo-Sánchez
Prof. Dr. Esra Küpeli Akkol
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Molecules is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- Antiviral
- Pandemic
- SARS-Cov-2
- COVID
- Natural therapy
- Drug development
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.