While the world is on the hunt for an effective drug for SARS-CoV-2, an herb widely used in Ayurveda offers an exciting new clue.
Scientists at the National Brain Research Center, Manesar, have discovered that it contains an ingredient Muleth Yashthimadhu in Sanskrit) has the potential to emerge as a drug candidate against SARS-CoV-2 as it decreases disease severity and decreases viral replication.
More than 15 months after the Covid-19 pandemic hit the world, scientists have yet to discover a drug to counter the raging virus, although several vaccines have been rolled out.
The doctors are currently managing patients with a handful of recycled drugs of varying degrees of effectiveness.
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With support from the Department of Biotechnology, the NBRC team began looking for a new drug against Covid-19 in the middle of the lockdown last year.
When the search was limited to glycyrrhizin for its amazing anti-inflammatory properties, the researchers ran a series of experiments to check its potential against SARS-CoV-2.
In the laboratory, the scientists expressed specific viral proteins in epithelial cells of the human lung. The viral proteins caused inflammation in these cells, but glycyrrhizin treatment clears the inflammation in such cells. The untreated cells succumbed to inflammation.
“By dampening the cytokine rush (a severe immune response triggered by severe Covid-19 cases), glycyrrhizin can reduce the severity of the infection,” said NBRC senior scientist Ellora Sen, who led the team. DH
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Then, when Sen with her fellow researchers Pruthvi Gowda, Shruti Patrick, Shanker Datt, Rajesh Joshi, and Kumar Kumawat further analyzed the molecule, they found that glycyrrhizin not only inhibits cytokine storm, but also reduces viral replication by 90%.
While Mulethi (Yashtimadhu) is widely prescribed for lung disease, chronic fever and inflammation of the airways in Ayurveda, glycyrrhizin is used in the treatment of chronic hepatitis B and C.
“Given its safety profile and tolerability, it could be a viable therapeutic option in patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection,” she said. The team is now looking for partners to take the research to the preclinical phase.
The study is published in Cytokine, the Official Journal of the International Cytokine and Interferon Society.