The vaccine remains the fundamental weapon to reduce the circulation of the virus and the severity of the disease, but for children under 12 years for whom vaccination is not yet planned, resveratrol can be considered an ally in effectively combating many infections of viral origin, including that of the new coronavirus. The data are still preliminary and refer to experiments conducted in the laboratory on cells of the nose and not on humans, but they are interesting. So much so that experts talked about it during the National Congress of the Italian Society for Infant Respiratory Diseases (SIMRI). Resveratrol is a molecule of plant origin present in grapes, blueberries, raspberries, known for its anti-inflammatory and antiviral action. “In fact, it allows the reduction of symptoms and the duration of infections in people affected by viruses of various origins such as the influenza virus, the respiratory syncytial virus and the rhinovirus”, underlines Paola Mastromarino, professor at Sapienza University of Rome , Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases. “To be effective, resveratrol must be administered topically, because with oral administration the molecule is minimally absorbed and our body transforms it into non-active metabolites that have no beneficial effect”.
Now Italian studies conducted on nasal cells show that resveratrol when formulated together with carboxymethyl beta-glucan (CMG), a substance that increases its solubility and stability in an aqueous environment, could also be useful against Sars-CoV-2, as Mastromarino write. and colleagues on Frontiers of Immunology. “These are the results of investigations conducted in vitro on nasal epithelial cells, in the laboratories of Padua – adds Ignazio Castagliuolo, Director and Referent for Quality of the School of Specialization in Microbiology and Virology at the University of Padua -. Resveratol in combination with CMG has been shown to be active in blocking the replication of the virus responsible for Covid-19 in human nasal epithelial cell cultures. It could therefore be used as supportive therapy in mild and moderate infections induced by SARS-CoV-2 ”.
Resveratrol has no side effects at commonly used dosages and for this reason it is also administered to babies from 0 to 6 months. “New and interesting perspectives are now opening up also for the treatment of Covid-19 infection and in countering the cytokine storm caused by the virus. The first in vitro studies need to be deepened with new trials conducted on pediatric and adult patients ”, concludes Giorgio Piacentini, Director of the UOC of Pediatrics C of the AOUI of Verona and Past-President of SIMRI.
In short, if vaccination remains the main defense against Covid, the availability of additional defense tools can only help the battle against the pandemic. “The availability of a product of natural origin, without side effects, effective in inhibiting the replication of many respiratory viruses, is of great interest because it could help pediatricians to manage these infections so frequent in children in their daily practice”, concludes Giovanni Arturo Rossi, Primary Emeritus Complex Operative Unit of Pneumology and Allergology at the Giannina Gaslini Institute.
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