Boosting the immune system with functional compounds during the Covid-19 pandemic: A Review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22122/cdj.v10i1.612Keywords:
Antiviral agents, Coronavirus, Dietary supplements, ImmunityAbstract
BACKGROUND: More than 1 year has passed since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nutrition and its role in boosting the immune system have been a hot topic during the previous year in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic. An effective medicine for COVID-19 has not been introduced and public vaccination has not gained an acceptable speed in the world; therefore, preventive measures, protocols adherence, and a robust immune system are crucial. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of food in boosting the immune system during the Covid-19 pandemic.
METHODS: In this scoping review, we searched and collected data related to food and its role in strengthening the immune system and COVID-19 in 4 leading databases including PubMed, Scopus, Web of sciences, and ScienceDirect. Findings were analyzed and combined using thematic analysis.
RESULTS: People with weak immune systems have been more affected by the coronavirus. Vitamins D, A, and E, zinc, selenium, copper, prebiotics, probiotics, lactoferrin, and omega-3 fatty acids have been shown to minimize SARS-CoV-2 viral load and shorten hospital stay. The dietary sources that can provide such functional compounds and boost the immune system are fish, milk and cheese, eggs, meat, fruits, beans, nuts and seeds, liver, and vegetable oils.
CONCLUSION: Due to the high demand for and limited availability of successful vaccines around the world, developing and low-income countries should be cautious about personal health problems and use food supplements to improve the immune system until public vaccination can be made available.
References
Abdulkarim H, Abdulkareem JH, Muhammad F. COVID-19 pandemic: The role of nutrition in strengthening the immunity. Hormozgan Med J. 2020; 24(4): e107316.
Mishra S, Patel M. Role of nutrition on immune system during COVID-19 pandemic. J Food Nutr Health. 2020; 3(2): 1-6.
Calder PC. Nutrition, immunity and COVID-19. BMJ Nutr Prev Health. 2020; 3(1): 74-92.
Aman F, Masood S. How Nutrition can help to fight against COVID-19 Pandemic. Pak J Med Sci. 2020; 36(COVID19-S4): S121-S123.
Lockyer S. Effects of diets, foods and nutrients on immunity: Implications for COVID-19? Nutr Bull. 2020; 45(4): 456-73.
Wu D, Wu T, Liu Q, Yang Z. The SARS-CoV-2 outbreak: What we know. Int J Infect Dis. 2020; 94: 44-8.
Weiss SR, Leibowitz JL. Coronavirus pathogenesis. Adv Virus Res. 2011; 81: 85-164.
Chowdhury MA, Hossain N, Kashem MA, Shahid MA, Alam A. Immune response in COVID-19: A review. J Infect Public Health. 2020; 13(11): 1619-29.
Zhu N, Zhang D, Wang W, Li X, Yang B, Song J, et al. A novel coronavirus from patients with pneumonia in China, 2019. N Engl J Med. 2020; 382(8): 727-33.
Su S, Wong G, Shi W, Liu J, Lai ACK, Zhou J, et al. Epidemiology, genetic recombination, and pathogenesis of coronaviruses. Trends Microbiol. 2016; 24(6): 490-502.
Lauer SA, Grantz KH, Bi Q, Jones FK, Zheng Q, Meredith HR, et al. The incubation period of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) from publicly reported confirmed cases: Estimation and application. Ann Intern Med 2020; 172(9): 577-82.
Lei S, Jiang F, Su W, Chen C, Chen J, Mei W, et al. Clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients undergoing surgeries during the incubation period of COVID-19 infection. EClinicalMedicine. 2020; 21: 100331.
Singhal T. A review of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). Indian J Pediatr. 2020; 87(4): 281-6.
Chen N, Zhou M, Dong X, Qu J, Gong F, Han Y, et al. Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of 99 cases of 2019 novel coronavirus pneumonia in Wuhan, China: A descriptive study. Lancet. 2020; 395(10223): 507-13.
Majumder J, Minko T. Recent developments on therapeutic and diagnostic approaches for COVID-19. AAPS J. 2021; 23(1): 14.
Rachul C, Marcon AR, Collins B, Caulfield T. COVID-19 and 'immune boosting' on the internet: A content analysis of Google search results. BMJ Open. 2020; 10(10): e040989.
Gombart AF, Pierre A, Maggini S. A review of micronutrients and the immune system-working in harmony to reduce the risk of infection. Nutrients. 2020; 12(1): 236.
Chandra RK. Impact of nutritional status and nutrient supplements on immune responses and incidence of infection in older individuals. Ageing Res Rev. 2004; 3(1): 91-104.
Khabour OF, Hassanein SFM. Use of vitamin/zinc supplements, medicinal plants, and immune boosting drinks during COVID-19 pandemic: A pilot study from Benha city, Egypt. Heliyon 2021; 7(3): e06538.
Childs CE, Calder PC, Miles EA. Diet and immune function. Nutrients. 2019; 11(8).
Opara EC. Oxidative stress, micronutrients, diabetes mellitus and its complications. J R Soc Promot Health. 2002; 122(1): 28-34.
Kieliszek M. Selenium(-)fascinating microelement, properties and sources in food. Molecules. 2019; 24(7): 1298.
Singh P, Tripathi MK, Yasir M, Khare R, Tripathi MK, Shrivastava R. Potential inhibitors for SARS-CoV-2 and Functional food components as nutritional supplement for COVID-19: A review. Plant Foods Hum Nutr. 2020; 75(4): 458-66.
Shakoor H, Feehan J, Al Dhaheri AS, Ali HI, Platat C, Ismail LC, et al. Immune-boosting role of vitamins D, C, E, zinc, selenium and omega-3 fatty acids: Could they help against COVID-19? Maturitas. 2021; 143: 1-9.
Gao H, Dai W, Zhao L, Min J, Wang F. The role of zinc and zinc homeostasis in macrophage function. J Immunol Res. 2018; 2018: 6872621.
Han B, Hoang BX. Opinions on the current pandemic of COVID-19: Use functional food to boost our immune functions. J Infect Public Health. 2020; 13(12): 1811-7.
Vincent M, Duval RE, Hartemann P, Engels-Deutsch M. Contact killing and antimicrobial properties of copper. J Appl Microbiol. 2018; 124(5): 1032-46.
Shah KK, Verma R, Oleske JM, Scolpino A, Bogden JD. Essential trace elements and progression and management of HIV infection. Nutr Res. 2019; 71: 21-9.
François LM, Nagessa WB, Victor BM, Moleka M, Carvalho ISTD. Coronavirus and nutrition: An approach for boosting immune system-a review. European J. Nutr. Food Saf. 2020; 12(9):72-86.
Das UN. Can bioactive lipids inactivate coronavirus (COVID-19)? Arch Med Res 2020; 51(3): 282-6.
Das UN. Arachidonic acid and other unsaturated fatty acids and some of their metabolites function as endogenous antimicrobial molecules: A review. J Adv Res. 2018; 11: 57-66.
Arshad MS, Khan U, Sadiq A, Khalid W, Hussain M, Yasmeen A, et al. Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and immunity booster green foods: A mini review. Food Sci Nutr. 2020.
Celik C, Gencay A, Ocsoy I. Can food and food supplements be deployed in the fight against the COVID 19 pandemic? Biochim Biophys Acta Gen Subj. 2021; 1865(2): 129801.
Yan F, Polk DB. Probiotics and immune health. Curr Opin Gastroenterol. 2011; 27(6): 496-501.
Al-Ansari MM, Sahlah SA, AlHumaid L, Ranjit Singh AJ. Probiotic lactobacilli: Can be a remediating supplement for pandemic COVID-19. A review. J King Saud Univ Sci. 2021; 33(2): 101286.
Hu J, Zhang L, Lin W, Tang W, Chan FKL, Ng SC. Review article: Probiotics, prebiotics and dietary approaches during COVID-19 pandemic. Trends Food Sci Technol. 2021; 108: 187-96.
Elmadfa I, Freisling H. Nutritional status in Europe: Methods and results. Nutr Rev. 2009; 67(Suppl 1): S130-S134.
Gasmi A, Noor S, Tippairote T, Dadar M, Menzel A, Bjorklund G. Individual risk management strategy and potential therapeutic options for the COVID-19 pandemic. Clin Immunol. 2020; 215: 108409.
Galanakis CM, Aldawoud TMS, Rizou M, Rowan NJ, Ibrahim SA. Food ingredients and active compounds against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic: A comprehensive review. Foods. 2020; 9(11): 1701.
Hwang HJ, Han JW, Jeon H, Cho K, Kim JH, Lee DS, et al. Characterization of a novel mannose-binding lectin with antiviral activities from red alga, Grateloupia chiangii. Biomolecules. 2020; 10(2): 333.
Mrityunjaya M, Pavithra V, Neelam R, Janhavi P, Halami PM, Ravindra PV. Immune-boosting, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory food supplements targeting pathogenesis of COVID-19. Front Immunol. 2020; 11: 570122.
Actor JK, Hwang SA, Kruzel ML. Lactoferrin as a natural immune modulator. Curr Pharm Des. 2009; 15(17): 1956-73.
Giansanti F, Panella G, Leboffe L, Antonini G. Lactoferrin from milk: Nutraceutical and pharmacological properties. Pharmaceuticals (Basel). 2016; 9(4).
Li X, Li J, Feng Y, Cai H, Li YP, Peng T. Long-chain fatty acyl-coenzyme A suppresses hepatitis C virus infection by targeting virion-bound lipoproteins. Antiviral Res. 2020; 177: 104734.
Kannamreddy V, Jeeva M, Patnaik G, Narmadha R, Reddy P, Reddy B, et al. Immunity boosters to combat covid-19 pandemic. J Exp Biol Agric Sci. 2020; 8: S119-S125.
Alkhatib A. Antiviral functional foods and exercise lifestyle prevention of coronavirus. Nutrients. 2020; 12(9): 2633.
Alberca RW, Teixeira FME, Beserra DR, de Oliveira EA, Andrade MMS, Pietrobon AJ, et al. Perspective: The potential effects of Naringenin in COVID-19. Front Immunol. 2020; 11: 570919.
Panyod S, Ho CT, Sheen LY. Dietary therapy and herbal medicine for COVID-19 prevention: A review and perspective. J Tradit Complement Med. 2020; 10(4): 420-7.
