Title:The Association of Respiratory Viruses with Oxidative Stress and Antioxidants. Implications for the COVID-19 Pandemic
Volume: 27
Issue: 13
Author(s): Marina Darenskaya*, Liubov Kolesnikova and Sergei Kolesnikov
Affiliation:
- Department of Pathophysiology, Scientific Centre for Family Health and Human Reproduction Problems, Irkutsk,Russian Federation
Keywords:
Antioxidants, coronaviruses, COVID-19, oxidative stress, pathogenesis, SARS-CoV-2.
Abstract: The spread of a new strain of coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, a pandemic, poses a serious health problem
for all humanity. Compared with the previous outbreaks of coronavirus infection in 2002 and 2012, COVID-19
infection has high rates of lethality, contagiousness, and comorbidity. The effective methods of prevention and
treatment are extremely limited. Oxidative stress is actively involved in the mechanisms of initiation and
maintenance of violations of homeostatic reactions in respiratory viral infections. It is important to stop systemic
inflammation aimed at "extinguishing" the cytokine "storm", caused by the production of reactive oxygen species.
Antioxidant defense medications, such as vitamin C, N-acetylcysteine, melatonin, quercetin, glutathione,
astaxanthin, polyphenols, fat-soluble vitamins, and polyunsaturated fatty acids have proven well in experimental
and clinical studies of influenza, pneumonia, and other respiratory disorders. The use of medications
with antioxidant activity could be justified and most probably would increase the effectiveness of the fight
against new coronavirus.