COVID-19: Exploring potential treatment pathways in nutrition

12 Mar 2020 --- The World Health Organization (WHO) has officially classified the COVID-19 outbreak as a pandemic. With vaccines potentially still a year away, the nutrition industry is looking inward to see if it can offer any potential treatments. While it is crucial to note that there is currently no cure for the virus and that the best way to prevent illness is to avoid exposure to it, NutritionInsight takes a closer look at possible treatment pathways in the nutrition sector. There have already been investigations into possible antiviral properties of ingredients including fucoidan, coconut oil and oregano oil.

In the past, various companies in the nutritional space have worked toward finding treatment pathways to coronaviruses, which came under scrutiny during the SARS outbreak of 2002-2003. The current COVID-19 pandemic involves a different strain of coronavirus called  severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In light of this outbreak, companies are now revisiting their prior research in the hopes that it could shed light on treatment options for the novel coronavirus. 

Among them is Australian biotechnology company Marinova. It highlights that it has previously examined the effect of fucoidan – bioactive seaweed compounds – on coronaviruses. 

“Marinova has investigated the effect of Maritech fucoidan on coronaviruses and noted little activity in comparison to the extent observed with other viruses such as influenza, herpes, human metapneumovirus and respiratory syncytial virus,” the company noted earlier this month.

However, this research was not on COVID-19 itself. “It is for these reasons that it is not possible to recommend fucoidan as a coronavirus blocking agent,” the company notes. 

The company says that as progress toward a vaccine continues, it will focus on an active R&D program on the immunomodulatory properties of fucoidan. It also states that evidence supports a range of potential beneficial effects, including boosted immune response, activation of Natural Killer cells and cytotoxic T cells, the mobilization of stem cells and the dampening of allergic responses.

Researchers have called for a clinical study investigating the antiviral effects of coconut oil.Filipino investigations into coconut oil
Meanwhile, researchers have called for a clinical study investigating the antiviral effects of coconut oil and its derivatives on patients infected with COVID-19. “Several researchers have been designing drugs to specifically target protease enzymes in coronavirus, but testing for these drugs is many months away. What if there is a treatment candidate against the coronavirus that might already be available and whose safety is already established?” This is the question proposed by Mary Newport, MD, and Fabian Dayrit, PhD, Professor of Biology at Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines. 

The duo argues that previous in vitro, animal and human studies support the potential of coconut oil, lauric acid (C12) and its derivatives as effective and safe agents against a virus similar to COVID-19 (although there have been no tests on COVID-19 itself). 

According to Newport and Dayrit, there are three proposed mechanisms to explain the general antiviral activity of C12 (a fatty acid that makes up about half of coconut oil) and monolaurin (a metabolite produced by the body upon ingestion of coconut oil). Firstly, they can cause the disintegration of the virus envelope. They can also inhibit the late maturation stage in the virus replicative cycle and prevent the binding of viral proteins to the host cell membrane, according the scientists. 

Debunking oregano oil?
Oregano oil has been a controversial topic in the fight against fake news surrounding supposed COVID-19 cures. It was one of the ingredients flagged by Harvard Health Publishing that was making the rounds on social media as an unsubstantiated means to ward of the virus. Experts have warned that products that claim to cure, treat or prevent serious diseases like COVID-19 may cause consumers to delay or stop appropriate medical treatment, leading to serious and life-threatening harm, with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently clamping down on seven offending companies. 

The rumors about oregano oil can be traced back to a 2003 in vitro study indicating that the herb’s oil can destroy human coronaviruses – albeit not the novel form that is COVID-19. The investigator concluded that oregano oil can inhibit the proliferation of coronavirus and reduce the viral load. However, this was all early-stage basic research and lacked the human trials needed to draw any firm conclusions. 

The study – which was not published in a journal – was conducted by Dr. Khalid Ijaz of Microbiotest, an independent microbiological testing lab based in Virginia, US. Dr. Ijaz incubated human coronavirus in MRC-5 cell lines with Oreganol P73, which is wild oregano oil with an olive oil base, and Oregacyn, a mix of wild oregano, cumin, sage and cinnamon. The Oreganol P73 reduced viral load from over five million particles per ml at baseline to 167 particles per ml within 15 minutes. Meanwhile, Oregacyn saw the load drop to 133 particles per ml in 15 minutes. The study was sponsored by North American Herb and Spice.

Additionally, some people are looking toward supplements such as Kerry’s Wellmune as a way to keep the immune system strong. Earlier this week, PharmaLinea Chairman and Founder, Blaž Gorjup, told NutritionInsight that although new product launches are on hold due to the severity of the COVID-19 situation, the supplement market is still seeing a boost in sales. Nonetheless, it is crucial to note that official recommendations from organizations, including the WHO, remain clear that measures such as handwashing are crucial for stemming the spread of COVID-19, regardless of supplement intake.   

By Katherine Durrell