Medicinal Plants Against COVID-19
Hanadi Talal Ahmedah, Muhammad Riaz, Sagheer Ahmed, Marius Alexandru Moga in The Covid-19 Pandemic, 2023
Chloroquine compound is prepared from the quinine and quinine is bitter alkaloid obtains from the cinchona tree bark. Chloroquine compound has the potential for the formulation of potent drug to cure COVID-19 because DNA of this virus has insinuated characteristics [66]. Resochin is the type of alkaloid which is being used to treat malaria and have potential against the viral diseases. Resochin medicine has the potential to stop the replication, transcription, and translation of viral nucleic acid [61]. Similarly, isoquinoline alkaloids such as palmatine and chelidonine are the interca-lating alkaloid and can be used as drug candidates to the battle SARS-CoV-2 [61, 67]. Cepharanthine, fangchinoline, and tetrandrine are pharmaceutically important alkaloids purified from Stephania tetrandra; other species of family Menispermaceae were used against the HCoV-OC43 coronavirus which infected MRC-5 cells of lung tissue [68]. These compounds also have the anti-inflammatory and anticancer activities [68]. The use of these three compounds dramatically decreased the HCoV-OC43 cells in the human. These three alkaloids inhibited the expression of viral protein (S) and nucleo-capsid (N) protein. Instead of this, mycophenolate, tylophorine, and emetine and others alkaloids had shown the significant antiviral activity [69–71].
Antimicrobials during Pregnancy
“Bert” Bertis Britt Little in Drugs and Pregnancy, 2022
The two major antimalarial drugs are chloroquine and quinine. Chloroquine is the primary drug used for the treatment of malaria, as well as for chemoprophylaxis in pregnant women who must travel to endemic areas (Diro and Beydoun, 1982). Although there have been no studies of infants whose mothers were treated for malaria during pregnancy with chloroquine, one study reported no increased frequency of congenital anomalies among 169 infants whose mothers received weekly low doses of the drug for malaria prophylaxis during pregnancy (Wolfe and Cordero, 1985). Quinine is used primarily for chloroquine-resistant falciparum malaria. Although there are no large studies regarding its use during pregnancy, increased malformations have been reported when large doses were used to attempt abortion (Nishimura and Tanimura, 1976). Quinine sulfate tablets have also been utilized for leg cramps, but their efficacy is unproven. Although not recommended for the treatment of leg cramps during pregnancy, the antimalarial quinines should not be withheld in the seriously ill pregnant woman with chloroquine-resistant malaria.
Antiviral Nanomaterials as Potential Targets for Malaria Prevention and Treatment
Devarajan Thangadurai, Saher Islam, Charles Oluwaseun Adetunji in Viral and Antiviral Nanomaterials, 2022
After the application of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine for the management of COVID-19, the repurposing of drugs is now emerging and pre-established drugs are been investigated for their other pharmacological utility. Compared to other infections, malaria is the most suffering cause of death in a large amount of populace. Around 228 million people on the globe suffer from malaria. It is the deadliest of viruses and uses human-cellular machinery for its growth, leaving an unhealthy human body behind. Numerous drugs have been used in the management of malaria, including chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine, doxycycline, quinine, atovaquone, and so forth. The inefficacy of vaccines and the limited option of therapeutics for the anticipation and management of malaria has forced the researchers to focus on other alternatives. Among existing classes of therapeutics, antiretroviral has proven to be a significant and potential candidate for their repurposing as an antimalarial. Despite the effectiveness of these drugs, limited drug choice, unpredictable and undesired side effects, and unconventional physico-chemical attributes limit their use, which could be compensated by the application of nanomaterial. The investigations included in this chapter have indicated the potential of antiviral drugs as antimalarial and their various aspects nanomaterials.
Roles of the ACE/Ang II/AT1R pathway, cytokine release, and alteration of tight junctions in COVID-19 pathogenesis
Published in Tissue Barriers, 2023
Laith Ashour
Regarding viral endocytosis, recent research has confirmed that clathrin-mediated cellular endocytosis of SARS-CoV-2 is a major aspect of virus infection.24 Then, viral endocytosis is followed by endosome acidification, the step by which SARS-CoV-2 enters the cytoplasm and begins replication.25 It has been found that inhibition of endosome acidification in COVID-19 by various agents – including chloroquine – impaired viral replication and improved the prognosis of viral pneumonia in vivo.25,26 However, chloroquine is not currently used in COVID-19 due to poor therapeutic effects and adverse side effects.27 These results present clathrin as a mediator of cellular endocytosis for SARS-CoV-2, which opens the door to the discovery of more potentially potent drugs that act by interfering with endosome acidification that follows clathrin-mediated endocytosis of SARS-CoV-2, such as Salibinin, which was expected to be a good treatment for the management of COVID-19 from a multi-target perspective.28
Porphyria: awareness is the key to diagnosis!
Published in Acta Clinica Belgica, 2022
Benjamin Heymans, Wouter Meersseman
Furthermore, there are two specific modalities to treat PCT: regular phlebotomy and hydroxychloroquine. Both have more or less the same efficacy and need the same persistence to induce remission [10]. On the one hand, phlebotomy is the preferred option in case of iron accumulation in the liver. It is often continued till the ferritin level is at the lower border of normal. Adverse events of phlebotomy may be anaemia and syncope. Note that iron chelators are also used sometimes but that they are considered to be less effective than regular phlebotomy [11]. On the other hand, a low dose chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine once a week is an effective alternative. These molecules have shown to mobilize the reservoir of porphyrins in the hepatocytes and will accelerate the urinary elimination of these molecules. This strategy can however lead to more severe photosensitivity in the first months of treatment. Other side effects of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine are mainly retinopathy and liver injury. The latter makes this option contraindicated in advanced liver failure.
Current and emerging strategies to combat antimalarial resistance
Published in Expert Review of Anti-infective Therapy, 2022
Charlotte Rasmussen, Pedro Alonso, Pascal Ringwald
Cases of P. falciparum resistance to proguanil and pyrimethamine had been reported in 1948–50. However, prior to the initiation of the GMEP in 1955, significant drug resistance to chloroquine or amodiaquine had not been reported [13]. Nevertheless, already 2 years after the launch of GMEP, in 1957, resistance to chloroquine was first suspected in eastern Thailand due to delays in the clinical response of P. falciparum to chloroquine [14]. Further studies in eastern Thailand found falciparum parasites resistant to all widely used drugs except quinine [15]. Chloroquine resistance and pyrimethamine resistance were identified in Pailin in 1962 [12]. In South America, chloroquine resistance was first observed in Columbia in 1959 [16,17]. The widespread use of chloroquine helped make progress in reducing malaria mortality and morbidity. However, the success of chloroquine also helped facilitate the spread of resistance. By 1964, chloroquine resistance had been reported from Brazil, Cambodia, Columbia, Guyana, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam [16,17].
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