Pharmacological Activities of Fingerroot Extract and Its Phytoconstituents Against SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Golden Syrian Hamsters

Abstract

Background The outbreak of COVID-19 has led to the suffering of people around the world, with an inaccessibility of specific and effective medication. Fingerroot extract, which showed in vitro anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity, could alleviate the deficiency of antivirals and reduce the burden of health systems. Aim of Study In this study, we conducted an experiment in SARS-CoV-2-infected hamsters to determine the efficacy of fingerroot extract in vivo. Materials and Methods The infected hamsters were orally administered with vehicle control, fingerroot extract 300 or 1000 mg/kg, or favipiravir 1000 mg/kg at 48 h post-infection for 7 consecutive days. The hamsters (n = 12 each group) were sacrificed at day 2, 4 and 8 post-infection to collect the plasma and lung tissues for analyses of viral output, lung histology and lung concentration of panduratin A. Results All animals in treatment groups reported no death, while one hamster in the control group died on day 3 post-infection. All treatments significantly reduced lung pathophysiology and inflammatory mediators, PGE 2 and IL-6, compared to the control group. High levels of panduratin A were found in both the plasma and lung of infected animals. Conclusion Fingerroot extract was shown to be a potential of reducing lung inflammation and cytokines in hamsters. Further studies of the full pharmacokinetics and toxicity are required before entering into clinical development.

Oral Bioavailability, Tissue Distribution, Metabolism, and Excretion of Panduratin A from Boesenbergia rotunda Extract in Healthy Rats

“… 46 , 47 Panduratin A exhibits anti-inflammatory effects, COVID-19 causes inflammation due to infection and cytokine storm in the host. 8 , 48 Thus, the existence of panduratin A in these organs shows a potential for a COVID-19 treatment. With the concept of combination drug therapies, this natural remedy could serve as a starting point for further drug development in treating these lung diseases.…”

“… 7 Furthermore, an in vivo study showed that fingerroot extract could reduce the severity of lung pathology in infected hamsters. 8 To continue clinical trials, preclinical data including the efficacy, toxicity, and pharmacokinetics of panduratin A are necessary. 29 In this study, the pharmacokinetic parameters of panduratin A as a pure compound and in a fingerroot extract were determined using a rat model.…”

“…Administration of 300–1000 mg/kg/day of ethanolic fingerroot extract for 7 days reduced lung inflammation and cytokine levels. 8 …”

Unveiling the Antiviral Properties of Panduratin A through SARS-CoV-2 Infection Modeling in Cardiomyocytes

“…Additionally, molecular docking simulations of panA and its derivatives to the main protease (MPro) of SARS-CoV-2 suggested that certain panA derivatives may possess stronger inhibitory binding [15]. Furthermore, treatments using panA-containing extracts in SARS-CoV-2 infected hamsters revealed significant reductions in lung inflammation and damage [16]. However, the potential toxicity of panA to human cardiomyocytes and any inhibitory effects of panA against SARS-CoV-2 infection in cardiomyocytes specifically have yet to be explored.…”

Oral sub-chronic toxicity of fingerroot (Boesenbergia rotunda) rhizome extract formulation in Wistar rats

“…However, the late application of fingerroot extract to SARS-CoV-2-infected hamsters resulted in limited efficacy in reducing viral output. Nonetheless, there is potential for fingerroot extract to alleviate lung inflammation during the late stages of infection [13] . Chronic inflammation caused by exaggerated and prolonged inflammatory responses might lead to cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and cancers [14] , [15] .…”