{"id":374045,"date":"2024-02-18T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-02-18T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/medizinonline.com\/?p=374045"},"modified":"2024-02-18T21:45:20","modified_gmt":"2024-02-18T20:45:20","slug":"preclinical-findings-on-the-antiviral-effects-of-pelargonium-sidoides","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medizinonline.com\/en\/preclinical-findings-on-the-antiviral-effects-of-pelargonium-sidoides\/","title":{"rendered":"Preclinical findings on the antiviral effects of Pelargonium sidoides"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Due to the immune escape of SARS-CoV-2 strains, the search for broad-spectrum antiviral agents remains an important research goal. A study published in 2023 shows that a phytopharmacological based on Pelargonium sidoides<\/em> improves the course of the disease in hamsters infected with SARS-CoV-2. In addition, antiviral effects against the Delta AY.4 and Omicron BA.2 variants were detected in human nasal and bronchial epithelial cells. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The use of Pelargonium sidoides extract<\/em> EPs\u00ae 7630 has proven to be an effective and safe treatment option for acute respiratory infections. Cell culture studies indicate that EPs\u00ae 7630 has comparable activity against SARS-CoV-2 as against other respiratory viruses. In an in-vitro study published in 2021, Papies et al. antiviral and immunomodulatory properties of EPs\u00ae 7630 in SARS-CoV-2 infected human lung cells [1]. To find out more about the properties of EPs\u00ae 7630 and its functionally relevant components in the context of phenotypically different SARS-CoV-2 variants, Emanuel et al. conducted another preclinical study [2]. On the one hand, they used an animal model – experimental studies on the Syrian hamster are considered a recognized model for analyzing the pathomechanisms of Covid-19 – and on the other hand, they analyzed treatment effects in a human in vitro model [2,3].<\/p>\n\n

Effects of EPs\u00ae 7630 in SARS-CoV-2 infected hamsters<\/h3>\n\n

For the first experimental group, a prophylactic pre-treatment strategy was used in which the hamsters received oral treatment with a dose of 50 mg\/kg body weight of EPs\u00ae 7630 twice daily, starting 24 hours before infection [2]. For the second test group, a combined oral (p.o.) plus intranasal (i.n.) treatment strategy was used, so that the hamsters received EPs\u00ae 7630 in addition to the oral dose (twice daily 50 mg\/kg body weight from the time of infection), once intranasally 5 mg\/kg body weight with the viral inoculum. The control group was also infected with SARS-CoV-2 and received a vehicle without EPs\u00ae 7630. <\/p>\n\n

Virus replication in the lower respiratory tract was delayed: <\/strong>both the oral-only group and the oral plus i.n. treatment group showed an approximately tenfold reduction in SARS-CoV-2 plaque-forming units (PFU) on the second day after infection compared to the vehicle-treated controls [2]. Two days after infection, both EPs\u00ae 7630 trial groups showed a statistically significant reduction in viral titers and viral RNA of SARS-CoV-2 in the lower respiratory tract, with the effects being slightly more pronounced in the oral plus i.n. treatment group. <\/p>\n\n

Delayed onset of pneumonia: <\/strong>Lung histopathology (paraffin-embedded tissue of the left-sided lungs; hematoxylin-eosin staining) was performed to determine whether treatment with EPs\u00ae 7630 also led to a change in Covid-19 pathology [2]. <\/p>\n\n