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Bee-collected pollen and bee bread, particularly when artificially fermented, demonstrate significant antiviral activity against the H1N1 strain of the influenza A virus.
2023 Foods Antiviral Activity of Beebread, Bee-Collected Pollen and Artificially Fermented Pollen against Influenza A Virus Dimitriou T, Asoutis Didaras N, Barda C, Skopeliti D, Kontogianni K, Karatasou K, et al.
Experimental Study Antiviral Bee Bread Bee Pollen
The research investigated the antiviral properties of bee-collected pollen (BCP) and bee bread (BB), including versions that had undergone artificial fermentation. The experiment also assessed separate proteins, water content, and -butanol portions of these substances. The analysis evaluated their effectiveness against the H1N1 strain of the influenza A virus (IAV). The antiviral behavior of these materials was taken in lab conditions via a comparative real-time PCR analysis working on their inhibitory concentration and selectivity index.
The outcomes revealed artificial fermentation improved the antiviral effectiveness of BCP. The protein fractions within the BCP and BB presented the greatest antiviral activity. Observations also highlighted that the chemical composition, prominent in proteins, and potentially microbiome metabolism determined the antiviral properties of BCP and BB. The chemical profile analysis emphasized the existence of some specialized metabolites that might be contributing towards this antiviral action.
Green tea consumption has been found to be effective in preventing the contraction of influenza infections.
2021 Molecules Anti-Influenza with Green Tea Catechins: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Rawangkan A, Kengkla K, Kanchanasurakit S, Duangjai A, Saokaew S
Systematic Review Antiviral Green Tea Influenza
To identify the potential benefits of green tea in influenza prevention, a methodical review and combined analysis of eight distinct research studies involving 5,048 participants was completed. The effect of green tea catechin treatment was tested against control conditions and assessed based on infection rates. Five of these studies were randomized controlled trials involving 884 participants and three were cohort studies with 2,223 participants. Subgroups such as those who gargled or took orally ingested forms of green tea were also analyzed separately. Further to this, the possibility of publication biases was evaluated using Begg's and Egger's tests.
The results showed both the randomized trials and the cohort studies displayed significant preventative effects on influenza infection for those treated with green tea catechins. Notably, there was no evidence of non-uniformity within the data, reinforcing these findings. The pooled results of different consumption methods further supported these findings, showing no disparities among the subgroups. These results suggest the consumption of green tea has tangible prophylactic effects against influenza infection.
Traditional Chinese medicine can restrain some infections induced by various drug-resistant bacteria.
2019 APMIS Prevention and treatment of infectious diseases by traditional Chinese medicine: a commentary Yuexia Ma, Ming Chen, Yali Guo, Jian Liu, Weitao Chen, Mengyue Guan, et al.
Review Article Common Cold, Flu & Viral Infections Influenza MRSA
A large number of studies have shown that multiple traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) compounds, single herbs, and monomers have effects on inhibiting drug-resistant bacteria in both in vitro and in vivo studies such as MRSA, Acinetobacter baumannii, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
The mechanism of treating drug-resistant bacteria in TCM mainly includes the following two aspects: eliminating plasmid and inhibition of the active efflux pump system. Forsythia decoction can inhibit the active efflux pump of A. baumannii, resulting in the variation of an adeB sequence of efflux pump coding gene.
In addition, TCM has a large impact on the production of the inactivating enzyme of antimicrobials to reverse the drug resistance. To inhibit the growth and reproduction of bacteria, Chinese medicinal herbs can alter the structure of bacterial cell wall to affect permeability. Some herbs such as rhubarb and berberine can restrain the formation of biofilms to inhibit the MRSA.
Notably, the antibacterial activity of TCM with little side effects is equivalent to that of antibiotics. A study showed that Chinese medicine, Mayushihuang decoction, has the same efficiency with teicoplanin for clearing MRSA; however, distinct adverse effects were not detected in the TCM group as compared to abnormal hepatorenal function in the teicoplanin group.
Clinical efficacy can be improved by the combination of Chinese and Western medicine in the treatment of bacterial infectious diseases.
2019 APMIS Prevention and treatment of infectious diseases by traditional Chinese medicine: a commentary Yuexia Ma, Ming Chen, Yali Guo, Jian Liu, Weitao Chen, Mengyue Guan, et al.
Review Article Common Cold, Flu & Viral Infections Influenza MRSA
The combination of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) intravenous preparations with conventional antibiotics can effectively improve the clinical efficacy of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) and promote the early rehabilitation of patients, thereby reducing the rate of mortality of the patients. Previous studies showed that Xiyanping injection (TCM injections are approved by the China Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of respiratory infection; the main ingredient is andrographolide sulfonate) combined with piperacillin and sulbactam significantly improved the clinical efficacy of pulmonary infection in the elderly.
Pulmonary infection is the most common complication and cause of death in stroke patients. Compared to simple symptomatic support treatment, the recovery rate and efficiency of Qingjin huatan decoction (famous TCM recipe composed of Scutellaria baicalensis, Fructus gardeniae, Fritillaria thun-bergli, for clearing heat and reducing phlegm) combined with Xiaochengqi decoction (purgative prescription) in the treatment of apoplexy-related lung infection is greatly improved. The symptoms of patients with pulmonary infection complicated with sepsis were significantly improved after treatment with the addition of Shengjiang powder combined with basic Western medical treatment including antibiotics and expectorant application. Consequently, the APACHE2 score was significantly reduced, and the levels of inflammatory cytokines, such as CRP, TNF-α, and IL-6 were also significantly reduced.
Traditional Chinese medicine has a generalized antiviral effect indicating the regulation on the direct inhibition of virus, body immunity, and inflammatory response control.
2019 APMIS Prevention and treatment of infectious diseases by traditional Chinese medicine: a commentary Yuexia Ma, Ming Chen, Yali Guo, Jian Liu, Weitao Chen, Mengyue Guan, et al.
Review Article Common Cold, Flu & Viral Infections Influenza MRSA
Present, several studies on the anti-virus activity of single Chinese medicinal herb, such as Fructus forsythiae, Radix isatidis, and Scutellaria baicalensis, using modern technology confirmed the effective constituent and materials, as well as the functional mechanism of the relevant parts. A systematic analysis found that TCM decoction and Ganmao capsule (a non-prescription Chinese patent medicine composed of some herbs for clearing heat and toxicity is commonly used in treating cold and flu) had better effects on the treatment of H3N2 and influenza B, respectively, than amantadine and ribavirin.
In terms of anti-inflammation, TCM can alleviate the damage caused by excess inflammatory reactions initiated by a virus. The single and compound Chinese medicinal herbs which can cause clearing heat and toxicity could decrease the cytokine storm resulting from the production of several species of pro-inflammatory cytokines and anti-inflammatory cytokines aim to improve the injury of tissue and organs. In turn, this phenomenon promotes blood circulation and removes stasis, thereby confining the inflammation and promoting its absorption. In the case of SARS, a rapidly spreading infectious disease, TCM combined with corticosteroids during the early stage of the outbreak could decrease the mortality by promoting innate immunity to relieve inflammation.
Subsequently, the TCM compounds of Chinese herbs analyzed based on the theory of strengthening healthy Qi and clearing pathogenic factors with the feature of multicomponent, multi-channel, and multiple targets exerted a synergistic effect on inhibiting the virus directly, relieving the immunopathological injury, and controlling the inflammatory reaction caused by virus infection.
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