Takes cue from ICAR-CIFT research article
A research article underlining the potential of seaweed as an effective immunotherapy against COVID-19 has been added to the WHO’s Website Section of ’COVID-19 Global Literature on Coronavirus Disease’ to help in the fight against the pandemic.
The article was co-authored by Dr Ashish K Jha; Dr. Suseela Mathew, Head of Division, Biochemistry & Nutrition, Indian Council of Agricultural Research-Central Institute of Fisheries Technology, Cochin (ICAR-CIFT) and Dr Ravishankar C N, Director, ICAR-CIFT.
This adds credence to the claims made by scientists working in the field of marine resources and drug discovery about the ability of naturally available seaweed compounds to fight the COVID-19 virus. The derivatives from seaweeds possess many nutraceutical properties.
Several polysaccharides isolated from red and green seaweeds have been evaluated and found to have the ability to inhibit the initial attachment of virus to the host cells which, in turn, effectively blocks the entry of the virus into the human body.
Carrageenan, a sulphated polysaccharide from red seaweed has already been tried as a therapeutic agent for respiratory illness like common cold and influenza virus H1N1. The research indicates the potency of sulphated polysaccharide derived from seaweed to fight the COVID-19 virus.
