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Propolis efficacy on SARS-COV viruses: a review on antimicrobial activities and molecular simulations

Ghosh S 1 , Al-Sharify ZT 2 , Maleka MF 1 , Onyeaka H 3 , Maleke M 4 , Maolloum A 5 Show all authors , Godoy L 6 , Meskini M 7 , Rami MR 8 , Ahmadi S 9 , Al-Najjar SZ 10 , Al-Sharify NT 11 , Ahmed SM 12 , Dehghani MH 13

Affiliations 

  • 1 Department of Genetics, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, 9301, South Africa
  • 2 Department of Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering, Mustansiriyah University, Bab-al-Mu'adhem, P.O. Box 14150, Baghdad, Iraq
  • 3 School of Chemical Engineering, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK
  • 4 Department of Life Science, Faculty of Health and Environmental Science, Central University of Technology, Bloemfontein, 9301, South Africa
  • 5 Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, University of Maroua, PO BOX 46, Maroua, Cameroon
  • 6 Department of Fruit and Oenology, Faculty of Agronomy and Forestry, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, Santiago, Chile
  • 7 Microbiology Research Center, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Teheran, Iran
  • 8 Department of Chemistry, K.N. Toosi University of Technology, P.O. Box 15875-4416, Tehran, Iran
  • 9 Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
  • 10 Chemical Engineering Department, College of Engineering, Al-Nahrain University, Baghdad, Iraq
  • 11 Medical Instrumentation Engineering Department, Al-Esraa University College, Baghdad, Iraq
  • 12 Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, College of Engineering, Universiti Tenaga Nasional, Kajang, Malaysia
  • 13 Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. hdehghani@tums.ac.ir
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int, 2022 Aug;29(39):58628-58647.
PMID: 35794320 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-022-21652-6

Abstract

This current study review provides a brief review of a natural bee product known as propolis and its relevance toward combating SARS-CoV viruses. Propolis has been utilized in medicinal products for centuries due to its excellent biological properties. These include anti-oxidant, immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, anti-fungal, and bactericidal activities. Furthermore, studies on molecular simulations show that flavonoids in propolis may reduce viral replication. While further research is needed to validate this theory, it has been observed that COVID-19 patients receiving propolis show earlier viral clearance, enhanced symptom recovery, quicker discharge from hospitals, and a reduced mortality rate relative to other patients. As a result, it appears that propolis could probably be useful in the treatment of SARS-CoV-2-infected patients. Therefore, this review sought to explore the natural properties of propolis and further evaluated past studies that investigated propolis as an alternative product for the treatment of COVID-19 symptoms. In addition, the review also highlights the possible mode of propolis action as well as molecular simulations of propolis compounds that may interact with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The activity of propolis compounds in decreasing the impact of COVID-19-related comorbidities, the possible roles of such compounds as COVID-19 vaccine adjuvants, and the use of nutraceuticals in COVID-19 treatment, instead of pharmaceuticals, has also been discussed.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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