Antiviral and Immunomodulatory Effects of Phytochemicals from Honey against COVID-19: Potential Mechanisms of Action and Future Directions

• Published in: Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 25; no. 21; p. 5017
• Main Authors: Al-Hatamleh, Mohammad A. I., Hatmal, Ma’mon M., Sattar, Kamran, Ahmad, Suhana, Mustafa, Mohd Zulkifli, Bittencourt, Marcelo De Carvalho, Mohamud, Rohimah
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01-11-2020; MDPI
• Subjects: 2019-nCoV; Antiinfectives and antibacterials; Antioxidants; Antiviral activity; antiviral agent; Antiviral agents; antiviral immunity; Ascorbic acid; Bioactive compounds; Bioavailability; Biological activity; Caffeic acid; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; COVID-19 vaccines; Disease; Enzymes; Flavonoids; Honey; Immune response; Immunology; Immunomodulation; Levan; Life Sciences; Metabolism; Metabolites; Natural products; Pandemics; Phytochemicals; Pyruvaldehyde; Respiratory diseases; Review; SARS-CoV-2; Severe acute respiratory syndrome; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Small intestine; Vaccines; Viral infections; Viruses; China
• ISSN: 1420-3049; 1420-3049
• DOI: 10.3390/molecules25215017

The new coronavirus disease (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), has recently put the world under stress, resulting in a global pandemic. Currently, there are no approved treatments or vaccines, and this severe respiratory illness has cost many lives. Despite the established antimicrobial and immune-boosting potency described for honey, to date there is still a lack of evidence about its potential role amid COVID-19 outbreak. Based on the previously explored antiviral effects and phytochemical components of honey, we review here evidence for its role as a potentially effective natural product against COVID-19. Although some bioactive compounds in honey have shown potential antiviral effects (i.e., methylglyoxal, chrysin, caffeic acid, galangin and hesperidinin) or enhancing antiviral immune responses (i.e., levan and ascorbic acid), the mechanisms of action for these compounds are still ambiguous. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work exclusively summarizing all these bioactive compounds with their probable mechanisms of action as antiviral agents, specifically against SARS-CoV-2.