Turmeric Root and Its Bioactive Ingredient Curcumin Effectively Neutralize SARS-CoV-2 In Vitro
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Type 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the causative agent of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The availability of effective and well-tolerated antiviral drugs for the treatment of COVID-19 patients is still very limited. Traditional herbal medicines elicit anti...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-09-01
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| Series: | Viruses |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/13/10/1914 |
| _version_ | 1827678487096328192 |
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| author | Maren Bormann Mira Alt Leonie Schipper Lukas van de Sand Vu Thuy Khanh Le-Trilling Lydia Rink Natalie Heinen Rabea Julia Madel Mona Otte Korbinian Wuensch Christiane Silke Heilingloh Thorsten Mueller Ulf Dittmer Carina Elsner Stephanie Pfaender Mirko Trilling Oliver Witzke Adalbert Krawczyk |
| author_facet | Maren Bormann Mira Alt Leonie Schipper Lukas van de Sand Vu Thuy Khanh Le-Trilling Lydia Rink Natalie Heinen Rabea Julia Madel Mona Otte Korbinian Wuensch Christiane Silke Heilingloh Thorsten Mueller Ulf Dittmer Carina Elsner Stephanie Pfaender Mirko Trilling Oliver Witzke Adalbert Krawczyk |
| author_sort | Maren Bormann |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Type 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the causative agent of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The availability of effective and well-tolerated antiviral drugs for the treatment of COVID-19 patients is still very limited. Traditional herbal medicines elicit antiviral activity against various viruses and might therefore represent a promising option for the complementary treatment of COVID-19 patients. The application of turmeric root in herbal medicine has a very long history. Its bioactive ingredient curcumin shows a broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity. In the present study, we investigated the antiviral activity of aqueous turmeric root extract, the dissolved content of a curcumin-containing nutritional supplement capsule, and pure curcumin against SARS-CoV-2. Turmeric root extract, dissolved turmeric capsule content, and pure curcumin effectively neutralized SARS-CoV-2 at subtoxic concentrations in Vero E6 and human Calu-3 cells. Furthermore, curcumin treatment significantly reduced SARS-CoV-2 RNA levels in cell culture supernatants. Our data uncover curcumin as a promising compound for complementary COVID-19 treatment. Curcumin concentrations contained in turmeric root or capsules used as nutritional supplements completely neutralized SARS-CoV-2 in vitro. Our data argue in favor of appropriate and carefully monitored clinical studies that vigorously test the effectiveness of complementary treatment of COVID-19 patients with curcumin-containing products. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T06:09:54Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d77c820b08224cba82c3fa08441319a7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1999-4915 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T06:09:54Z |
| publishDate | 2021-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Viruses |
| spelling | doaj.art-d77c820b08224cba82c3fa08441319a72023-11-22T20:17:59ZengMDPI AGViruses1999-49152021-09-011310191410.3390/v13101914Turmeric Root and Its Bioactive Ingredient Curcumin Effectively Neutralize SARS-CoV-2 In VitroMaren Bormann0Mira Alt1Leonie Schipper2Lukas van de Sand3Vu Thuy Khanh Le-Trilling4Lydia Rink5Natalie Heinen6Rabea Julia Madel7Mona Otte8Korbinian Wuensch9Christiane Silke Heilingloh10Thorsten Mueller11Ulf Dittmer12Carina Elsner13Stephanie Pfaender14Mirko Trilling15Oliver Witzke16Adalbert Krawczyk17Department of Infectious Diseases, West German Centre of Infectious Diseases, Universitätsmedizin Essen, University Duisburg-Essen, 45147 Essen, GermanyDepartment of Infectious Diseases, West German Centre of Infectious Diseases, Universitätsmedizin Essen, University Duisburg-Essen, 45147 Essen, GermanyDepartment of Infectious Diseases, West German Centre of Infectious Diseases, Universitätsmedizin Essen, University Duisburg-Essen, 45147 Essen, GermanyDepartment of Infectious Diseases, West German Centre of Infectious Diseases, Universitätsmedizin Essen, University Duisburg-Essen, 45147 Essen, GermanyInstitute for Virology, University Hospital Essen, University Duisburg-Essen, 45147 Essen, GermanyInstitute for Virology, University Hospital Essen, University Duisburg-Essen, 45147 Essen, GermanyDepartment of Molecular and Medical Virology, Faculty of Medicine, Ruhr University Bochum, 44801 Bochum, GermanyDepartment of Infectious Diseases, West German Centre of Infectious Diseases, Universitätsmedizin Essen, University Duisburg-Essen, 45147 Essen, GermanyDepartment of Infectious Diseases, West German Centre of Infectious Diseases, Universitätsmedizin Essen, University Duisburg-Essen, 45147 Essen, GermanyDepartment of Infectious Diseases, West German Centre of Infectious Diseases, Universitätsmedizin Essen, University Duisburg-Essen, 45147 Essen, GermanyDepartment of Infectious Diseases, West German Centre of Infectious Diseases, Universitätsmedizin Essen, University Duisburg-Essen, 45147 Essen, GermanyDepartment of Molecular Biochemistry, Cell Signaling, Ruhr-University Bochum, 44801 Bochum, GermanyInstitute for Virology, University Hospital Essen, University Duisburg-Essen, 45147 Essen, GermanyInstitute for Virology, University Hospital Essen, University Duisburg-Essen, 45147 Essen, GermanyDepartment of Molecular and Medical Virology, Faculty of Medicine, Ruhr University Bochum, 44801 Bochum, GermanyInstitute for Virology, University Hospital Essen, University Duisburg-Essen, 45147 Essen, GermanyDepartment of Infectious Diseases, West German Centre of Infectious Diseases, Universitätsmedizin Essen, University Duisburg-Essen, 45147 Essen, GermanyDepartment of Infectious Diseases, West German Centre of Infectious Diseases, Universitätsmedizin Essen, University Duisburg-Essen, 45147 Essen, GermanySevere Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Type 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the causative agent of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The availability of effective and well-tolerated antiviral drugs for the treatment of COVID-19 patients is still very limited. Traditional herbal medicines elicit antiviral activity against various viruses and might therefore represent a promising option for the complementary treatment of COVID-19 patients. The application of turmeric root in herbal medicine has a very long history. Its bioactive ingredient curcumin shows a broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity. In the present study, we investigated the antiviral activity of aqueous turmeric root extract, the dissolved content of a curcumin-containing nutritional supplement capsule, and pure curcumin against SARS-CoV-2. Turmeric root extract, dissolved turmeric capsule content, and pure curcumin effectively neutralized SARS-CoV-2 at subtoxic concentrations in Vero E6 and human Calu-3 cells. Furthermore, curcumin treatment significantly reduced SARS-CoV-2 RNA levels in cell culture supernatants. Our data uncover curcumin as a promising compound for complementary COVID-19 treatment. Curcumin concentrations contained in turmeric root or capsules used as nutritional supplements completely neutralized SARS-CoV-2 in vitro. Our data argue in favor of appropriate and carefully monitored clinical studies that vigorously test the effectiveness of complementary treatment of COVID-19 patients with curcumin-containing products.https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/13/10/1914SARS-CoV-2COVID-19herbal medicineantiviral<i>Curcuma longa</i>turmeric root |
| spellingShingle | Maren Bormann Mira Alt Leonie Schipper Lukas van de Sand Vu Thuy Khanh Le-Trilling Lydia Rink Natalie Heinen Rabea Julia Madel Mona Otte Korbinian Wuensch Christiane Silke Heilingloh Thorsten Mueller Ulf Dittmer Carina Elsner Stephanie Pfaender Mirko Trilling Oliver Witzke Adalbert Krawczyk Turmeric Root and Its Bioactive Ingredient Curcumin Effectively Neutralize SARS-CoV-2 In Vitro Viruses SARS-CoV-2 COVID-19 herbal medicine antiviral <i>Curcuma longa</i> turmeric root |
| title | Turmeric Root and Its Bioactive Ingredient Curcumin Effectively Neutralize SARS-CoV-2 In Vitro |
| title_full | Turmeric Root and Its Bioactive Ingredient Curcumin Effectively Neutralize SARS-CoV-2 In Vitro |
| title_fullStr | Turmeric Root and Its Bioactive Ingredient Curcumin Effectively Neutralize SARS-CoV-2 In Vitro |
| title_full_unstemmed | Turmeric Root and Its Bioactive Ingredient Curcumin Effectively Neutralize SARS-CoV-2 In Vitro |
| title_short | Turmeric Root and Its Bioactive Ingredient Curcumin Effectively Neutralize SARS-CoV-2 In Vitro |
| title_sort | turmeric root and its bioactive ingredient curcumin effectively neutralize sars cov 2 in vitro |
| topic | SARS-CoV-2 COVID-19 herbal medicine antiviral <i>Curcuma longa</i> turmeric root |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/13/10/1914 |
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