Botanical Approach to COVID-19
⚕︎ A Botanical Approach to COVID-19 as recommended by the Institute for Functional Medicine ⚕︎
The Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM) has released a functional medicine approach to the prevention and treatment of COVID-19. I would like to share some of these recommendations to help ease some anxiety during this time knowing you are doing all that you can for your health and the health of your family.
The first and most important, recommendation is to follow the guidelines for sanitation outlined by the CDC. Wash your hands after touching anything, do not touch your face, etc.
Now in regards to some botanical options for ‘boosting immunity’ we want to understand the mechanism of action which causes this virus to become lethal. Now there has been a lot of buzzing about a 'cytokine storm' and how that is what inevitably leads to the morbidity and mortality of COVID-19. Now unless you are a medical professional or some other professionally educated biochemical scientist, you may not understand what Cytokines even are, and that’s OKAY! Cytokines are regulatory proteins that act as messengers within our immune system. They are an essential part of the way our immune system communicates where infection or injury occur. This in turn allows the immune system to ‘turn on’ and send specific help to wherever it is needed most. Now in some cases, this action can be over stimulated, leading to more harm than good, which can be the case with COVID-19 by way of activation of a specific inflammatory pathway (NLRP3 inflammasome). Part of the recommendations listed below regulate or mediate the activation of this particular pathway. A 2016 review article titled “Natural compounds as regulators of NLRP3 inflammasome-mediated IL-beta production” notes that:
🜃 Resveratrol — found in red wine, berries, and peanuts
🜁 Curcumin — turmeric
🜂 EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate) — green tea
🜄 Quercetin {found in red wine, onions, green tea, berries, and other plants} are potent inhibitors of NLRP3 inflammasome-mediated IL-1beta production, which basically reduces the likelihood of a ‘cytokine storm’ or decreasing the extent to which this pathway is activated.
Another preprint released on March 23, 2020 identified the ability of plant bioactive compounds to inhibit the COVID-19 main protease, which is an enzyme necessary for viral replication. Some of the compounds which may inhibit SARS-CoV-2 replication by way of inhibition of the main protease include:
🜃 Kaempferol — found in spinach, green tea, broccoli
🜁 Quercetin — found in red wine, onions, green tea, berries, and other plants
🜂 Luteolin-7-glucoside — a constituent of the leaves of Capsicum annuum {red pepper} and found in dandelion coffee
🜄 Naringenin — found in many citrus fruits
🜃 Oleuropein — found in olive oil, and leaves of the olive tree
🜁 Curcumin — turmeric
🜂 Catechin - -antioxidant found in tea, cacao, and berries
🜄 Epicatechin-gallate — found in green tea and buckwheat
Listed above were the natural compounds that appeared to have the best potential to act as COVID-19 Mpro inhibitors — inhibiting viral replication of SARS-CoV-2.
Now I know that is a lot of science talk, but hey, I’ve always been a little nerdy, and always needed to understand “the why.” I included where you can find some of these compounds, and SHOCKER, it’s in FOOD.
#FoodISMedicine
Food that is grown, food that is out of the ground, not something shelf-stable that sits on the middle isles of your local grocery store. Eating mindfully during these times can be one of the most powerful interventions, and quite frankly one of the only interventions we have. Knowledge is power, and I hope this inspires you to do your own research. Now I will share some of the recommendations of the IFM. For complete recommendations, including dosages, follow the link to the article posted by the IFM found below in the References section.
Some compounds to include in your prevention diet include and are found in:
☽ QUERCETIN — onions, green tea, red wine
☽ CURCUMIN — turmeric, add black pepper to increase absorption
☽ ECGC — green tea
☽ N-ACETYLCYSTEINE — a precursor to glutathione (a powerful antioxidant) and interestingly enough is the drug used to treat Tylenol overdose, and is also used to loosen thick mucus in patient with cystic fibrosis or chronic bronchitis, found in most health food stores/pharmacies.
☽ RESVERATROL — found in red wine, berries, and peanuts
☽ VITAMIN D — an important immune system modulator best produced by being exposed to sunlight, i.e. not staying inside your house all day. Also available widely via supplement, and found naturally occurring in fatty fish (tuna, salmon, etc), some dairy products, and beef liver.
☽ MELATONIN — shown to inhibit the NLRP3 inflammasome, widely available via supplement.
☽ VITAMIN A — known as an anti-inflammatory vitamin for its crucial role in enhancing immune function. Found in carrots, sweet potatoes, spinach, broccoli, & sweet red peppers.
☽ ELDERBERRY — One of the best known and studied botanical anti-viral agents. There has been some misinformation going around regarding elderberry (Sambucus nigra) — “One in-vitro study reported an increase in TNF-alpha [a cytokine] levels related to a specific commercial preparation of elderberry leading some to caution that its use could initiate a ‘cytokine storm.’ However, these data were not confirmed when the same group performed similar studies, which were published in 2002. Therefore, these data suggest it is highly implausible that consumption of properly prepared elderberry products (from berries or flowers) would contribute to an adverse outcome related to overproduction of cytokines or lead to an adverse response in someone infected with COVID-19.” Note that UNCOOKED preparations of Elderberry are TOXIC! Please trust your sources for prepared elderberry products and thoroughly question the methods of those selling Elderberry Tinctures.
☽ VITAMIN C — contributes to immune defense by supporting various cellular functions of both the innate and adaptive immune systems. Widely available in citrus fruit, berries, and highly concentrated in traditionally fermented sauerkraut, with purple cabbage kraut clocking almost 700 mg per cup!
With this information, I hope that you can feel empowered to do your own research and begin (if you aren't already) incorporating these foods & medicines into your daily life.
Stay safe and share the health
xoxo,
Earth & Craft Apothecary
🜁🜄🜂🜃
☽꩜☾
This information is intended for educational purposes only. This information is not intended to replace the advice of a medical doctor. This information has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
References:
The Functional Medicine Approach to COVID-19: Virus-Specific Nutraceutical and Botanical Agents: https://bit.ly/2V3NIcv
Adem S, Eyupoglu V, Sarfraz I, Rasul A, Ali M. Identification of potent COVID-19 main protease (Mpro) inhibitors from natural polyphenols: an in silico strategy unveils a hope against CORONA. Preprints. Published online March 23, 2020. doi:10.20944/preprints202003.0333.v1
Barak V, Birkenfeld S, Halperin T, Kalickman I. The effect of herbal remedies on the production of human inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines. Isr Med Assoc J. 2002;4(11 Suppl):919-922.
Barak V, Halperin T, Kalickman I. The effect of Sambucol, a black elderberry-based, natural product, on the production of human cytokines: I. Inflammatory cytokines. Eur Cytokine Netw. 2001;12(2):290-296.
Chen IY, Moriyama M, Chang MF, Ichinohe T. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus viroporin 3a activates the NLRP3 inflammasome. Front Microbiol. 2019;10:50. doi:10.3389/fmicb.2019.00050
Ding S, Xu S, Ma Y, Liu G, Jang H, Fang J. Modulatory mechanisms of the NLRP3 inflammasomes in diabetes. Biomolecules. 2019;9(12):E850. doi:10.3390/biom9120850
Tozsér J, Benko S. Natural compounds as regulators of NLRP3 inflammasome-mediated IL-1beta production. Mediators of Inflammation. 2016;2016:5460302. doi:10.1155/2016/5460302
