Potential approaches to combat COVID-19: a mini-review.

The outbreak of a novel coronavirus namely SARS-CoV-2, which first emerged from Wuhan, China, has wreaked havoc not only in China but the whole world that now has been engulfed in its wrath. In a short lapse of time, this virus was successful in spreading at a blistering pace throughout the globe, hence raising the flag of pandemic status. The mounting number of deaths with each elapsing day has summoned researchers from all around the world to play their part in driving this SARS-CoV-2 pandemic to an end. As of now, multiple research teams are immersed in either scrutinizing various antiviral drugs for their efficacy or developing different types of vaccines that will be capable of providing long-term immunity against this deadly virus. The mini-review sheds light on the possible approaches that can be undertaken to curb the COVID-19 spread. Possible strategies comprise viral vector-based, nucleic acid-based, protein-based, inactivated and weakened virus vaccines; COVID-19 vaccine being developed by deploying Hyleukin-7 technology; plant-based chimeric protein and subunit vaccines; humanized nano-bodies and human antibodies; intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) infusion therapy; inhibitors for ACE-2, Angiotensin 1 receptor (AT1R), complement system, viral proteins, host cell protease and endocytosis; shield immunity; IL-6R, NKG2A and hACE2-SARS-CoV-2-RBD interaction blocking monoclonal antibodies; SARS-CoV RdRp-based drugs, traditional Chinese medicine, repositioned and anti-viral drugs. These vaccines and drugs are currently being screened in the clinical trials as several of them have manifested positive results, hence increasing the probability of becoming one of the potential treatments for this disease.

Traditional uses of medicinal plants against malarial disease by the tribal communities of Lesser Himalayas-Pakistan.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Malaria is among the most prevalent infectious diseases in the developing countries of world. Estimated number of annual malaria episodes in Pakistan is 1.5 million, but very little is known about medicinal plant species of Pakistan, which have great potential against malarial disease. Present study was aimed to document medicinal plant species used by the local inhabitants of Lesser Himalayas-Pakistan to treat malaria. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data were collected through interviews, questionnaires and contributor observation. A total of 55 informants aged between 25 and 80 years who were familiar with malarial disease participated in the survey. RESULTS: A total of 84 plant species belonging to 69 genera and 50 families were recorded to treat malaria. Asteraceae was found as most cited botanical family with (11.9%) representation, followed by Lamiaceae (5.9%), Solanaceae and Verbenaceae (4.7%) and Violaceae (3.5%) respectively. About 60% of the inhabitants prefer herbal treatment by local herbalists or self-treatment with locally available medicinal plant species. Of the plants identified during present investigation against malaria, Azadirachta indica, Swertia chirayita and Swertia ciliata exhibited uppermost frequency of encounter (36.3%) and corresponding PR value 5. About 67.2% of the botanical taxa are reported for the first time in the treatment of malaria. It was observed thatover harvesting is the foremost threat to medicinal plant species of the study area. CONCLUSION: Present survey indicates that traditional knowledge about the use of plant species against various diseases and particularly to treat malaria is in decline. Similarly anthropogenic pressure, over exploitation and grazing of the botanical taxa are the major concerns regarding medicinal plant biodiversity loss. Frequently utilized plant species with significant malarial reduction should be authenticated by in vitro and in vivo standard tests.