An in vitro antiviral activity of iodine complexes against SARS-CoV-2.

Since the emergence of COVID-19 pandemic in China in late 2019, scientists are striving hard to explore non-toxic, viable anti-SARS-CoV-2 compounds or medicines. We determined In vitro anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity of oral formulations (syrup and capsule)of an Iodine-complex (Renessans). First, cell cytotoxicity of Renessans on the Vero cells was determined using MTT assay. Afterwards, the antiviral activity of Renessans was determined using viral inhibition assays and TCID50. For this, nontoxic concentrations of the Renessans were used. The results showed that Renessans is nontoxic to the cells up to 50 µg/mL. At 1.5 µg/mL concentration, SARS-CoV-2 production was significantly reduced to 101.43 TCID50 and 101.58 TCID50 for the syrup and capsule, respectively, as compare to virus infected control cells 106.08 TCID50 and we found the dose dependent inhibition of virus replication in the presence of Renessans. Renessans inhibited SARS-CoV-2 with an EC50 value of 0.425 µg/mL and 0.505 µg/mL for syrup and capsule, respectively. Furthermore, there was no virus detected at concentration of 50 µg/mL of Renessans. This study indicates that Renessans, containing iodine, have potential activity against SARS-CoV-2 which needs to be further investigated in human clinical trials.

Evaluation of Renessans (Iodine Complex Molecule) Safety in Human Beings: An Open-Labeled Clinical Study.

Extensive studies on evaluation of effectiveness/toxicity of different oral doses of iodine have not been explored yet. An open-labeled phase I clinical studies were conducted using iodine complex based research compound called Renessans. Study groups were observed for development of any adverse/serious adverse events and alteration in laboratory values of vital organs, TSH and T4 hormones before and after the administration of the products. Out of 31 consented individuals, 24 healthy individuals participated in the study. Rate of occurrence of mild Adverse Events (AEs) in group A was 8.3% while in Group B it was 33.33% but these Adverse Events were self-resolving. After completion of study treatment blood serum iodine was reported to 3522.88 µg/l while mean urine iodine concentration (MUIC) was greater than 2000 µg/l. Hormonal and vital organ's testing revealed that all parameters of TSH and T4, LFT, CBC, RFT remained unaltered except from ALT-SGPT (P-value = .006) and AST-SGOT (P-value = .02). From all of these findings, it can be inferred that the use of Renessans formulations did not pose any sort of risk to human body and can be considered safe through this pilot study.