Marine sulfated polysaccharides as potential antiviral drug candidates to treat Corona Virus disease (COVID-19)

Abstract

The viral infection caused by SARS-CoV-2 has increased the mortality rate and engaged several adverse effects on the affected individuals. Currently available antiviral drugs have found to be unsuccessful in the treatment of COVID-19 patients. The demand for efficient antiviral drugs has created a huge burden on physicians and health workers. Plasma therapy seems to be less accomplishable due to insufficient donors to donate plasma and low recovery rate from viral infection. Repurposing of antivirals has been evolved as a suitable strategy in the current treatment and preventive measures. The concept of drug repurposing represents new experimental approaches for effective therapeutic benefits. Besides, SARS-CoV-2 exhibits several complications such as lung damage, blood clot formation, respiratory illness and organ failures in most of the patients. Based on the accumulation of data, sulfated marine polysaccharides have exerted successful inhibition of virus entry, attachment and replication with known or unknown possible mechanisms against deadly animal and human viruses so far. Since the virus entry into the host cells is the key process, the prevention of such entry mechanism makes any antiviral strategy effective. Enveloped viruses are more sensitive to polyanions than non-enveloped viruses. Besides, the viral infection caused by RNA virus types embarks severe oxidative stress in the human body that leads to malfunction of tissues and organs. In this context, polysaccharides play a very significant role in providing shielding effect against the virus due to their polyanionic rich features and a molecular weight that hinders their reactive surface glycoproteins. Significantly the functional groups especially sulfate, sulfate pattern and addition, uronic acids, monosaccharides, glycosidic linkage and high molecular weight have greater influence in the antiviral activity. Moreover, they are very good antioxidants that can reduce the free radical generation and provokes intracellular antioxidant enzymes. Additionally, polysaccharides enable a host-virus immune response, activate phagocytosis and stimulate interferon systems. Therefore, polysaccharides can be used as candidate drugs, adjuvants in vaccines or combination with other antivirals, antioxidants and immune-activating nutritional supplements and antiviral materials in healthcare products to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Structural Characterization of Sulfated Polysaccharide Isolated From Red Algae (Gelidium crinale) and Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Effects in Macrophage Cells

“…Many studies have reported that sulfated polysaccharides are good protective agents for antioxidant enzymes in cells. Thus, the sulfate content and molecular weight of sulfated polysaccharides will have a certain impact on the antioxidant activity ( Andrew and Jayaraman, 2021 ). Sun et al (2018) indicated that Laminaria japonica polysaccharides with a higher content of sulfuric acid groups and a smaller molecular weight have a strong ability to scavenge free radicals.…”

Lignosulfonate Rapidly Inactivates Human Immunodeficiency and Herpes Simplex Viruses

“…SARS-CoV-2 exhibits several complications, such as lung damage, blood clot formation, respiratory illness, organ failures [ 49 ], and neurologic manifestations such as taste [ 50 ] and smell loss [ 51 ] in most patients. At present, there is no report available for anticoronavirus activity of both lignosulfonate and sulfated polysaccharides.…”

“…At present, there is no report available for anticoronavirus activity of both lignosulfonate and sulfated polysaccharides. Since these substances prevent virus entry into host cells, they can be used as candidate drugs, adjuvants in vaccines, or in combination with other antivirals, antioxidants, and immune-activating nutritional supplements and antiviral materials to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection [ 49 ]. The anti-diabetic [ 8 ], anti-inflammatory [ 9 ], and antiviral activity (this study) of lignosulfonate, and the neuroprotective activity of lignin [ 52 ] and SE [ 53 ] may be advantageous for the treatment of COVID-19.…”

Antiviral Activity of Carrageenans and Processing Implications

“…Other enveloped viruses affected by carrageenans included dengue virus type 2 (DENV-2) [ 8 , 39 , 69 ], human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) [ 63 , 70 ], Sindbis virus [ 63 ], Influenza virus (IAV) [ 16 ], human metapneumovirus (HPNV) [ 11 ], porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) [ 25 ], rabies virus (RABV) [ 46 ], Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) [ 67 ], vaccinia virus [ 62 , 63 ], Semliki forest virus and swine fever virus [ 62 ], hantaviruses [ 71 ], and the fish virus viral haemorrhagic septicaemia virus (VHSV) [unpublished results]. In addition, recent studies have demonstrated that iota and lambda carrageenans have a potent inhibitory activity against SARS-CoV2 [ 61 , 72 , 73 ], and other sulfated polysaccharides have been postulated as candidates for prevention and/or treatment of the COVID-19 [ 36 , 74 , 75 ]. Some authors have also reported activity against non-enveloped viruses such as human rhinovirus (HRV) [ 76 ], enterovirus 71 (EV-71) [ 24 ], and papillomavirus type 16 (HPV-16) [ 77 ].…”