Potential medicinal, nutritive and antiviral food plants: Africa’s plausible answer to the low Covid-19 mortality

The surge in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) has put the scientific community on overdrive to come up with a cure and/or possible vaccine to curtail the menace this virus has caused. Considering the morbidity rate from the Coronavirus and the World Health Organization (W...

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Main Authors: Idris O Raimi, Andrew M. Musyoki, Olusanya A. Olatunji, Muhali O. Jimoh, Welile V. Dube, Joshua O. Olowoyo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences 2022-01-01
Series:Journal of HerbMed Pharmacology
Subjects:
Online Access:http://herbmedpharmacol.com/PDF/jhp-11-20.pdf
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author Idris O Raimi
Andrew M. Musyoki
Olusanya A. Olatunji
Muhali O. Jimoh
Welile V. Dube
Joshua O. Olowoyo
author_facet Idris O Raimi
Andrew M. Musyoki
Olusanya A. Olatunji
Muhali O. Jimoh
Welile V. Dube
Joshua O. Olowoyo
author_sort Idris O Raimi
collection DOAJ
description The surge in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) has put the scientific community on overdrive to come up with a cure and/or possible vaccine to curtail the menace this virus has caused. Considering the morbidity rate from the Coronavirus and the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations for healthy living, this review examined and documented the possible options of plant-based immune boosters for attaining wellness and protect against infections caused by viruses. This review documented 106 plants consumed largely in Africa as food or medicine after assessing over 172 articles from notable search engines. These plants were reported for antiviral activities and immune boosters for attaining wellness and immunomodulation, a key protective feature against infections caused by viruses. The documented plants contain several immune-modulating compounds like vitamins, flavonoids, phenols, macro, and micronutrients, which might be the possible reason for the current leverage on the mortality rate associated with the COVID-19 pandemic in the African continent. The study, therefore, concluded that medicinal/food plants are able to enhance healthy living and medicinal plants are a significant source of phytomedicinal content for the management of viral-induced diseases such as COVID-19.
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spelling doaj.art-d579dffdc9ff4b3abc6cc73e0d21f83b2022-12-22T02:37:39ZengShahrekord University of Medical SciencesJournal of HerbMed Pharmacology2345-50042022-01-01111203410.34172/jhp.2022.03jhp-39136Potential medicinal, nutritive and antiviral food plants: Africa’s plausible answer to the low Covid-19 mortalityIdris O Raimi0Andrew M. Musyoki1Olusanya A. Olatunji2Muhali O. Jimoh3Welile V. Dube4Joshua O. Olowoyo5Department of Biology, Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, P.O. Box 139, Medunsa 0204, South AfricaDepartment of microbiological pathology, Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, Medunsa 0204, South AfricaCollege of Geographical Science,Fujian Normal University, 32 Shangsan Road, Fuzhou, 35007, Fujian, Republic of ChinaDepartment of Horticultural Sciences, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Bellville Campus, P.O. Box 1906, Bellville 7535, City of Cape Town, South AfricaDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Tygerberg Campus, Western Cape, South AfricaDepartment of Biology, Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, P.O. Box 139, Medunsa 0204, South AfricaThe surge in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) has put the scientific community on overdrive to come up with a cure and/or possible vaccine to curtail the menace this virus has caused. Considering the morbidity rate from the Coronavirus and the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations for healthy living, this review examined and documented the possible options of plant-based immune boosters for attaining wellness and protect against infections caused by viruses. This review documented 106 plants consumed largely in Africa as food or medicine after assessing over 172 articles from notable search engines. These plants were reported for antiviral activities and immune boosters for attaining wellness and immunomodulation, a key protective feature against infections caused by viruses. The documented plants contain several immune-modulating compounds like vitamins, flavonoids, phenols, macro, and micronutrients, which might be the possible reason for the current leverage on the mortality rate associated with the COVID-19 pandemic in the African continent. The study, therefore, concluded that medicinal/food plants are able to enhance healthy living and medicinal plants are a significant source of phytomedicinal content for the management of viral-induced diseases such as COVID-19.http://herbmedpharmacol.com/PDF/jhp-11-20.pdfcoronavirusimmunomodulatorymedicinal plantsmorbiditynutrientsphytochemicals
spellingShingle Idris O Raimi
Andrew M. Musyoki
Olusanya A. Olatunji
Muhali O. Jimoh
Welile V. Dube
Joshua O. Olowoyo
Potential medicinal, nutritive and antiviral food plants: Africa’s plausible answer to the low Covid-19 mortality
Journal of HerbMed Pharmacology
coronavirus
immunomodulatory
medicinal plants
morbidity
nutrients
phytochemicals
title Potential medicinal, nutritive and antiviral food plants: Africa’s plausible answer to the low Covid-19 mortality
title_full Potential medicinal, nutritive and antiviral food plants: Africa’s plausible answer to the low Covid-19 mortality
title_fullStr Potential medicinal, nutritive and antiviral food plants: Africa’s plausible answer to the low Covid-19 mortality
title_full_unstemmed Potential medicinal, nutritive and antiviral food plants: Africa’s plausible answer to the low Covid-19 mortality
title_short Potential medicinal, nutritive and antiviral food plants: Africa’s plausible answer to the low Covid-19 mortality
title_sort potential medicinal nutritive and antiviral food plants africa s plausible answer to the low covid 19 mortality
topic coronavirus
immunomodulatory
medicinal plants
morbidity
nutrients
phytochemicals
url http://herbmedpharmacol.com/PDF/jhp-11-20.pdf
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