Vitamins and other immune-supportive elements as cofactors for passing the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Background Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a viral disease that causes a respiratory disorder, started in December of 2019 in China. Several vitamins and trace elements could help in enhancing host immunity producing antioxidant or anti-inflammatory action. This work aimed to identify the role of different nutrition, vitamins, and trace elements on the immunity status of the infected subject and the possibility of the beneficial role of these elements in the management of COVID-19. Main body After collecting (PubMed, scholar, OVID, Embase, Cochrane Library) and investigating published articles, testing the effect of these elements on viral infection, it was found that most of these elements have a significant role during viral infection through a different mechanism, like antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulation. Nutritional interventions in COVID-19 infections are very important currently, and it was reported that vitamin C and D reduce the risk of acute respiratory infections. In addition, low vitamin A diets compromise the effectiveness of inactivated bovine coronavirus vaccines. Administration of N-acetyl cysteine showed a beneficial inhibitory effect in viral infections and enhanced glutathione production. The deficiency of selenium on COVID-19 subjects has a significant impact on the clinical outcome of the subjects. In addition, supplementation with vitamins proved to enhance immune response during viral infection. Vitamins and trace elements not only showed a beneficial effect but also Omega 3 fatty acids showed an immunomodulating effect during infections. Short conclusions Assessment of levels for these trace elements at the baseline and providing supplementation containing different vitamins and elements could result in better control and clinical outcomes in the case of COVID-19.

A Meta-Analysis of the Effectiveness of Vitamin C in the Prevention and Treatment of Childhood Upper Respiratory Tract Infections

“…The study period, year of publication, first author's last name, place of study, and study design were all used to condense relevant data: both study-related and subject-related characteristics in consistent form; qualitative and quantitative evaluation methods; information source; number of children; population type; demographics; categories; characteristics of the clinical and treatment services provided; and evaluation of outcomes [20] . Whenever data were available from a single trial assessing the effectiveness of vitamin C in the prevention and treatment of pediatric upper respiratory tract infections, these items were extracted separately.…”

Nutrition Strategies Pre-infection, during, and Post-infection with Coronavirus Disease

“…Glutathione is the main defensive antioxidant synthesized from three amino acids involving cysteine, glycine, and glutamic acid, which acts as a barrier to prevent ROS from damaging cellular components [93]. Hence, protein-rich foods provide the main amino acids for producing glutathione which is beneficial in enhancing the immune response in viral infections [94]. The supplement NAC is a wellknown mucolytic agent in respiratory infections due to its thiol-containing free-radical scavenger and its role as a precursor of glutathione [95].…”

Lessons from the health policies for children during the pandemic in Japan

“…Although some sufficient clinical observations have been reported, there are few data supporting active intervention especially for children (41). The situation of Vitamin E, considered as a natural killer cell and a T cell activator, was similar to VC (42). For children, there are a few RCTs showing positive effects of Vitamin A for preventing respiratory infections.…”