Biosurfactants and anti-inflammatory activity: A potential new approach towards COVID-19

Abstract

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has grown to be global public health emergency. The biosurfactants (BSs) are surface-active biomolecules with unique properties and wide applications. Several microbes synthesize secondary metabolites with surface-active properties which has wide range of anti-inflammatory and anti-viral role.. The monocytes and neutrophils are activated by bacteria which subsequently result in high secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-6, IL-8, IL-12, Il-18 and IL-1β) and toll-like receptors-2 (TLR-2). Following the inflammatory response, BSs induce the production of cationic proteins, reactive oxygen species (ROS) and lysozyme, and thus can be utilized for therapeutic purposes. This review provides recent advances in the anti-inflammatory and antiviral activities of biosurfactants and discusses the potential use of these compounds against COVID-19, highlighting the need for in-vitro and in-vivo approaches to confirm this hypothesis. This suggestion is necessary because there are still no studies that have focused on the use of biosurfactants against COVID-19.

Mucormycosis: An opportunistic pathogen during COVID-19

“…There are many plausible explanations for the occurrence of mucormycosis post-COVID-19 infection. COVID-19 patients exhibit a wide array of pulmonary changes ( Subramaniam et al, 2020 ; Vishnupriya et al, 2021 ) which may be a focal point for fungal initiation. Moreover, COVID-19 is also associated with immune dysfunction ( Renu et al, 2020 ) preventing the polymorphonuclear phagocytes from attacking the fungal spores upon entry ( Jayaramayya et al, 2020 ).…”

A critical review on various feedstocks as sustainable substrates for biosurfactants production: a way towards cleaner production

“…Biosurfactants are gaining popularity due to their remarkable advantages over synthetic ones—low toxicity, biodegradability, efficacy over a broad pH and temperature range are just a few to name [ 5 – 7 ]. As a result, it is now used in a wide range of fields, including environmental [ 8 – 10 ], food [ 11 , 12 ], remediation [ 13 ], biomedical [ 14 – 16 ], and a variety of other commercial applications [ 17 – 20 ]. The different feedstocks used, benefits, applications, and drawbacks of biosurfactants are depicted in Fig.…”

Comprehensive Review on Applications of Surfactants in Vaccine Formulation, Therapeutic and Cosmetic Pharmacy and Prevention of Pulmonary Failure due to COVID-19

“…BSs can be used as potential therapeutic agent for treating inflammatory diseases as BSs are capable to inhibit cPLA2 by interaction with macromolecules and cell membranes [ 126 ]. In near future Sophorolipids (SLs), produced from C. bombicola , may be a promising therapy for immunomodulation in chronic inflammatory diseases [ 120 ] as they lower IgE (immunoglobulin E) level [ 122 , 123 ] and supress expression of inflammatory cytokine [ 124 ]. BS surfactin, originated from various microbes, have extensively used as neuroprotective agent and anti-inflammatory agent as they increase anti-inflammatory effect by reducing pro-inflammatory cytokines [ 127 , 128 ].…”