Infectious diseases are ailments caused by pathogenic viruses and microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi. Infections can spread directly from person to person and from animal to human, or indirectly via contaminated water and food. This can result in small local outbreaks and epidemics, like the plague, syphilis and SARS, or pandemics affecting several countries, of which the flu is one of the best-known examples. In times of globalization and climate change, infectious diseases are spreading more rapidly than ever before, and new ones continue to emerge, including the latest novel coronavirus.
Coronaviruses (CoV) are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases. A novel coronavirus (nCoV) is a new strain that has not been previously identified in humans. On 30 January 2020, the WHO Director-General declared the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.
Turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) belongs to the family of ginger (Zingiberaceae) and natively grows in India and Southeast Asia. The plants rhizomes contain several secondary metabolites including curcuminoids, sesquiterpenes, and steroids (Omosa et al., 2017); with the curcuminoid curcumin being the principal component of the yellow pigment and the major bioactive substance.
Antiviral Activities of Curcumin
Due to the lack of preventive and therapeutic options for many viral infections, numerous studies have been conducted to investigate the antiviral potential of natural compounds.
Antiviral activity of Curcumin(Turmeric)was observed against several different viruses including hepatitis viruses, influenza viruses and emerging arboviruses like the Zika virus (ZIKV) or chikungunya virus (CHIKV). Interestingly, it has also been reported that the molecule inhibits human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV-2) and human papillomavirus (HPV), indicating that curcumin reduces the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.
Antiviral activity of curcumin (Turmeric) against several different viruses.
| Virus | Family | Antiviral activity | References |
|---|---|---|---|
| CHIKV | Togaviridae | Entry inhibitor | Rhein et al., 2016 |
| DENV | Flaviviridae | Entry inhibitor Particle production inhibition | Chen et al., 2013 Padilla-S et al., 2014 |
| HBV | Hepadnaviridae | Replication inhibitor cccDNA inhibitor | Kim et al., 2009, 2011; Rechtman et al., 2010 Wei et al., 2017 |
| HCV | Flaviviridae | Entry inhibitor | Anggakusuma et al., 2014 |
| HIV | Retroviridae | Protease inhibitor Integrase inhibitor Tat protein inhibitor | Sui et al., 1993 Mazumder et al., 1995 Barthelemy et al., 1998; Balasubramanyam et al., 2004; Ali and Banerjea, 2016 |
| HPV | Papilomaviridae | Gene expression inhibition | Maher et al., 2011; Mishra et al., 2015 |
| HSV | Herpesviridae | Gene expression inhibition | Kutluay et al., 2008 |
| IAV | Orthomyxoviridae | Entry inhibitor | Chen et al., 2010; Ou et al., 2013 |
| JEV | Flaviviridae | Entry inhibitor Particle production inhibition | Chen et al., 2013 Padilla-S et al., 2014 |
| MNV | Caliciviridae | Entry inhibitor | Yang M. et al., 2016 |
| RSV | Pneumoviridae | Entry inhibitor Replication and budding inhibition | Yang X.X. et al., 2016; Yang et al., 2017 Obata et al., 2013 |
| RVFV | Phenuiviridae | Replication inhibitor | Narayanan et al., 2012 |
| ZIKV | Flaviviridae | Entry inhibitor | Mounce et al., 2017 |
Curcumin Inhibits the following viruses1 Human Immunodeficiency Virus2 Hepatitis Viruses3 Inhibits Influenza A Virus4 Herpesviruses5 Human Papillomavirus6 Respiratory Syncytial Virus7 Noroviruses8 ArbovirusesNot only viruses but also many bacteria and fungi are inhibited by Curcumin found in Turmeric.(Link to the study https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6509173/) |
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