The medicinal plant A. annuaand the artemisinin it produces have been safely used to treat a range of ailments, particularly mia, for more than 2,000 years. One study conducted in 2005 also demonstrated that the herb has an antiviral effect against SARS-CoV-1 – the agent responsible for the 2002 to 2003 SARS outbreak. Furthermore, both the A. annua plant and artemisinin have been shown to reduce levels of the inflammatory cytokines interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) in vivo. See full list on The team hypothesized that encapsulated powdered dried leaves of A. annuamight represent a safe and cost-effective approach to treating SARS-CoV- 2 infections. The researchers tested the effects of extracts from seven A. annuacultivars sourced from four different continents on SARS-CoV-2 propagated in Vero E6 cells. They also assessed correlations of antiviral efficacy with artemisinin, total flavonoid contents, and dry leaf mass. All extracts demonstrated anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity. The IC50 values (concentration of drug that inhibits 50% of target) calculated based on artemisinin, total flavonoid content or dry leaf mass ranged from 0.1 to 8.7µM, 0.01 to 0.14µg and.4µg, respectively. One sample that was obtained in 2008 still exhibited anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity that was comparable to the most recently harvested cultivar samples. Thple is ubiquitous to different A. annua cultivars and is chemically stable during long-term room temperature dry... See full list on To investigate dried leaf A. annua(DLA) as a potential therapeutic, Weathers consumed 3 grams of encapsulated DLA of the SAM cultivar, and the team tracked artemisinin as a marker molecule by drawing blood samples two and five hours later. At two and five hours following ingestion, the artemisinin levels were 7.04µg and 0.16 µg per mL serum, respectively. At 2 hours, this corresponded to 2.35µg artemisinin/mL serum of DLA-delivered artemisinin per gram of DLA consumed. The researchers say that while human trials are clearly needed, the study suggests that consuming reasonable amounts of DLA may serve as a cost-effective treatment for SARS-CoV-2 infection. See full list on bioRxivpublishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information. See full list on
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