Affiliations 

  • 1 Department of Immunology, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kubang Kerian 16150, Kelantan, Malaysia
  • 2 Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Faculty of Applied Health Sciences, The Hashemite University, Zarqa 13133, Jordan
  • 3 Department of Medical Education, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh 11472, Saudi Arabia
  • 4 Department of Neurosciences, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kubang Kerian 16150, Kelantan, Malaysia
  • 5 Université de Lorraine, CNRS, UMR 7365, IMoPA, F-54000 Nancy, France
Molecules, 2020 Oct 29;25(21).
PMID: 33138197 DOI: 10.3390/molecules25215017

Abstract

The new coronavirus disease (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), has recently put the world under stress, resulting in a global pandemic. Currently, there are no approved treatments or vaccines, and this severe respiratory illness has cost many lives. Despite the established antimicrobial and immune-boosting potency described for honey, to date there is still a lack of evidence about its potential role amid COVID-19 outbreak. Based on the previously explored antiviral effects and phytochemical components of honey, we review here evidence for its role as a potentially effective natural product against COVID-19. Although some bioactive compounds in honey have shown potential antiviral effects (i.e., methylglyoxal, chrysin, caffeic acid, galangin and hesperidinin) or enhancing antiviral immune responses (i.e., levan and ascorbic acid), the mechanisms of action for these compounds are still ambiguous. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work exclusively summarizing all these bioactive compounds with their probable mechanisms of action as antiviral agents, specifically against SARS-CoV-2.

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