Scientists & herbalists united in the fight COVID-19

Proyecto Científicos y Naturópatas Ecuador COVID-19

Proposal

Introduction

Given the difficulty of diagnosing and giving adequate treatment to patients with COVID-19 added to the shortage of medications, it is necessary for citizens to have access to other alternatives that alleviate the symptoms of the disease; One of these alternatives includes the use of plants with therapeutic potential against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Many of the selected plants are found in shops, markets, supermarkets, orchards and even in the patio of the houses.

The purpose of this project is not aimed at substituting medicinal products for the use of herbal products, but rather, offers a natural alternative with a scientific sense to those who need to promote medical treatment and / or to those who cannot access it (S Li et al., 2020). Below, we attach a table with the first summarized examples of herbs that we have investigated in the different high-impact scientific databases whose work has been carried out in different countries of the world and that with the help of an expert botanist we have managed to find in our Ecuadorian territories.

Table 1. Vegetables investigated as inhibitors of the SARS-CoV-19 virus.

Name: Lycoris radiata
Place: Temperate areas such as Ibarra, as an ornamental plant.
Active principle: Licorina Preparation: Stem bark infusion Bibliography /ranking: (Shi-you Li et al., 2005); Q1, H index 108 Common name: Campana rojizas o blancas Pharmacological action: -Antiviral activities -They have an anti-SARS-CoV component -Lycoris radiata was the most powerful.

Name: Artemisia annua. Place: Near ponds or flooded areas, such as rice paddies or riverbanks. Active principle: Licorina Preparation: Infusion of any part of the plant. Bibliography /ranking: (Shi-you Li et al., 2005); Q1, H index 108 Common name: Artemisa Pharmacological action: -Antiviral activities -They have an anti-SARS-CoV component

Name: Pyrrosia lingua Place: Transition zones in the inter-andean Andes, such as the Bucay canton in Ecuador. Active principle: Licorina Common name: Lengua de perro
Preparation: Infusion of the leaves. Bibliography /ranking: Shi-you Li et al., 2005); Q1, H index 108 Pharmacological action: -Antiviral activities -They have an anti-SARS-CoV componen

Name: Indigofera spp. Place: They are found in temperate zones Active principle: Sinigrin, indoxrilglucoside, Adenoside Preparation: Roots infusion Bibliography /ranking: (Lin et al., 2005); Q1, H index 108 Common name: Añil o Tinte índigo Pharmacological action: Effects of the anti-SARS 3C coronavirus-like protease.

Name: Brassicaceae Place: They are in temperate zones. Active principle: Sinigrina Preparation: General cooking Bibliography /ranking: (Lin et al., 2005); Q1, H index 108 Common name: Beech in broccoli and mustard seeds Pharmacological action: Inhibits SARS-CoV 3CLpro

Name: Aloe Place: They are found as an ornamental or decorative plant in home gardens or yards. Active principle: Aloe emodin Preparation: Take two to three centimeters from the glass of the aloe and liquefy it in juices. Bibliography /ranking: (Lin et al., 2005); Q1, H index 108 Common name: Sábila Pharmacological action: Inhibits SARS-CoV 3CLpro

Name: Citrus X Place: It is found in arid and coastal areas of tropical regions. Active principle: Hesperetina Preparation: juices Bibliography /ranking: (Lin et al., 2005); Q1, H index 108 Common name: It is found in oranges, lemons or grapefruits Pharmacological action: Inhibits SARS-CoV 3CLpro

Metodología

The present work begins with an extensive review of the scientific databases containing high impact scientific journals of all plants with proven therapeutic potential against others for the SARS-CoV-19 virus and other SARS-type viruses, and those that were selected were those that describe a better action in eliminating the virus or mitigating the symptoms it causes. In addition, all the information on the molecular pathways of the drugs proposed / used to combat COVID-19 (tocilizumab, paracetamol, hydroxychloroquine, etc.) will be collected. Finally, data will be collected from those plant species that potentially produce the same pharmacological effects.

In addition, the scientific names of the plants found in the scientific articles will be correlated with the common names of the plants that we have in Ecuadorian territory with the help of a botanical expert for their respective taxonomic validation.

The national and foreign scientists, in addition to extracting all the information from the works on the bioactive compounds of the plants and their derivatives, an expert botanist will correlate this information with the common names of the plants found in Ecuadorian territory; If the plant is not found, it will be investigated that Ecuadorian plants have the same active ingredients, which will be investigated in our laboratories at ESPOL to confirm that they do indeed have the compound of interest.

Consequently, this information will be transmitted to the group of specialists in herbal medicine, pharmaceutical chemists and naturopaths who have a license provided by the Ministry of Public Health, so that they are the bridge that connects the scientific information on active ingredients in plants that inhibit COVID-19. to the Ecuadorian population in general.

In order for this work to be carried out, an online platform will be created where a chat will be found for people to access free consultations with the aforementioned specialists on intake to restore the immune system and / or alleviate the symptoms of COVID-19.

Discussion

Plants generally contain a combination of active or phytochemicals with different polarities. A typical practice is the extraction isolation of the active ingredients, such as HPLC, column chromatography, flash and Sephadex to obtain pure compounds. Also, of other techniques such as MAb and FTIR. The phytochemical characterization of medicinal plants in Ecuador continues to be a great challenge due to its great biodiversity, since the process of identification and characterization of bioactive principles in plants requires a vast selection process, for example, in studies to confirm their purity, identity of bioactive compounds and among other biological tests (Sasidharan, Chen, Saravanan, Sundram, & Yoga Latha, 2011).

Chemical screening is the first step to characterize secondary metabolites in plants, since it is a cheap, simple and fast process. Absinthe (Artemisia absinthium L.) plants contain metronidazole and albendazole compounds that are highly effective in clinical treatments for COVID infection – 19 (Gharebaghi, Heidary, Moradi, & Parvizi, 2020). Plants like flaxseed (Linum usitatissimum), green Tea (Camellia sinensis), chavelita (Catharanthus roseus), cardo mariano (Silybum marianum) and the peanut (Arachis hypogaea), contain statins, compounds that have been used in patients with COVID-19 who have a history of diseases such as atherosclerotic, diabetes, and acute cardiac injury (Driggin et al., 2020). In patients with lupus and COVID-19, interferon treatment has been significantly important since it attenuates the symptoms of this disease (Sawalha, Zhao, Coit, & Lu, 2020).

There are other immunomodular agents for viral diseases that are found in some medicinal plants such as those seen in garlic (Allium sativum), the uña de gato (Uncaria tomentosa), echinacesa (Echinacea purpurea), aloe (Aloe barbadensis) and parasitic plants like mistletoe (Viscum album) (Sánchez, Gupta, & Santana, 2002). Chloroquine phosphate is an efficient inhibitor in patients with COVID-19, this secondary metabolite is found in the plant known as Cascarilla or Chinchona (Cinchona pubescens) native to Andean countries like Ecuador.

3.1 Ethnomedicine of Ecuador

The father of Ethnomedicine in Ecuador was Dr. “Plutarco Naranjo” (Naranjo & Escaleras, 2002) who made a large compilation of medicinal plants from ethnobotanical sources from various Ecuadorian towns, where he investigated and collected information for various therapeutic indications, particularly plants with antiviral and febrifuge characteristics, information that is relevant to initiate studies in the therapeutic treatment of COVID -19. Naranjo & Escaleras (2002) mention some medicinal plants with antiviral properties belong to the Pteridophytas type plants, in Ecuador there are 14 species of them (Boufford, 2020), a representative of interest is the giant Andean fern that belongs to the genus Cyathea sp.

Other species with the same therapeutic indications are also found in vascular plants, such as the apumpu cara (Solanum grandiflorum) and biu chini (Urtica sp.) Species located in the Sierra Region of Ecuador. Pablo, Quisintuña, Dávila, Llopis, & Vásquez (2016) report that Urtica urens is particularly used in infusions as a blood purifier, this ancient knowledge opens the opportunity to analyze in future the secondary metabolites of the aforementioned species and to mitigate the symptoms and subsequent effects of COVID-19.

Among the species with febrifuge indications we have sacha garlic (Mansoa alliacea), anaconda tree (Cespedesia spathulata), chuchuhuasi (Maytenus krukovii) and mindal (Simira sp.) located in the Amazon Region. In relation to the Ecuadorian Coast Region, where the city of Guayaquil is located, who is the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic, this city is surrounded by tropical dry forests (Espinosa, Cruz, Luzuriaga, & Escudero, 2012), containing a unique floristic composition and withstanding great anthropogenic pressure, these forests are areas that require research for their conservation and sustainable use of the natural resources that they provide to the inhabitants of the Costa del Ecuador Region (Espinosa et al., 2012).

Considering all these reasons of great importance, we urgently need to carry out a bioprospecting of the active ingredients of the species belonging to the Rubiaceae family, such as: the colorado (Simira ecuadoriensis), crusita amarilla (Rosenbergiodendron formosum), crusita café (Randia sp.) located in the tropical dry forest and also species of tropical humid forest of the Ecuadorian Amazon region to study the species, capirona (Calycophyllum spruceanum), uña de gato (Uncaria guianensis) and mindal (Simira sp.), species that can be used to alleviate the symptoms of the disease caused by COVID-19, since they can contain chloroquine phosphates among other metabolites of pharmaceutical interest. Said information will expand the database of medicinal plants on the research platform, which will be available to the group of specialists in the field of phytotherapies who, through online consultations, will be able to advise the population affected by this disease.

3,2 Species that can alleviate the symptoms caused by COVID-19

The main symptoms produced by COVID-19 are dry cough, shortness of breath, fever, headache, etc. There are several possible therapeutic agents against these symptoms, such as remdesivir, hydroxychloroquine, interferon, sarilumab, ribavirin, among others, for the potential treatment of these symptoms, however, clinical trials to verify their efficacy are still lacking. (Lu, Chen, & Chang, 2020). Positive results have been achieved in patients from 0 to 16 years with the use of lopinavir-ritonavir syrup, after 14 days everyone can recover from COVID-19 (Qiu et al., 2020).

Some of the medicinal species that can fight these respiratory tract infections as antiretroviral, we can mention echinacea (Echinacea purpurea), the herb of San Juan (Hypericum perforatum), grapefruit juice (Citrus × paradisi) and also, the secondary metabolites from orchids such as Dendrobium moniliforme (Sut, Maggi, & Dall’Acqua, 2017). In Ecuador, we have a lot of biodiversity of orchids, in particular the species of the genus Dendrobium sp. they are used for their ornamental characteristics (Tapia et al., 2012), For this reason, phytotherapists need to evaluate Ecuador's promising plant specimens to alleviate symptoms and efficiently combat COVID-19.

Conclusions

Most of the herbs that are published in different high impact scientific journals are commonly used in Ecuadorian cuisine and others are found in mountains located in different parts of Ecuador, and that have been used through the guidance of ancestral knowledge of our peoples.
A group of specialists in phytotherapy, pharmaceutical chemistry and naturopaths is necessary to share with the Ecuadorian population through its online platform its consumption uses as a palliative for the symptoms of COVID-19, various respiratory symptoms, antipyretics, and strengthening of the immune system. among others. In addition, some discomfort would be avoided to people whose consumption of certain plant products you could cause them, because everyone may react differently to any of them.
Due to the great plant diversity that exists in the country, we Ecuadorians have many options of medicinal plants and food products at hand that can help us alleviate the symptoms of COVID-19 caused by the SARS-CoV-19 virus, among other similar diseases. All the more reason, given the urgent need for medical attention and the absence of medicines that we currently suffer, given the pandemic crisis caused by this virus

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