The COVID 19 novel coronavirus pandemic 2020: seaweeds to the rescue? Why does substantial, supporting research about the antiviral properties of seaweed polysaccharides seem to go unrecognized by the pharmaceutical community in these desperate times?

• Published in: Journal of applied phycology Vol. 32; no. 3; pp. 1875 - 1877
• Main Authors: Pereira, Leonel, Critchley, Alan T.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01.06.2020; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Algae; algology; Antiviral activity; Antiviral agents; Aquatic plants; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Carrageenan; Chemical compounds; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; COVID-19 infection; Disease control; Ecology; Forearm; Freshwater & Marine Ecology; Global health; Immunization; lectins; Life Sciences; macroalgae; pandemic; Pandemics; Pharmacology; Plant Physiology; Plant Sciences; Polysaccharides; Saccharides; Seaweeds; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Vaccines; Viral diseases; Viruses; COVID-19; Sulphated polysaccharides; Pandemic 2020; Novel coronavirus; Seaweed compounds; Antiviral properties
• ISSN: 0921-8971; 1573-5176
• DOI: 10.1007/s10811-020-02143-y

Presently, there is lack of a vaccine that would lead to immunization against the virus COVID-19, but here are some of the characteristics that various seaweeds have and which may provide a glimpse into potential solutions of this global health problem in the near future and possibly forearm us for any future such pandemics. Many species of marine algae contain significant quantities of complex structural sulphated polysaccharides that have been shown to inhibit the replication of enveloped viruses. Other compounds, both of red algae (e.g., the lectin griffithsin and the phycocolloid carrageenan), and other sulphated polysaccharides extracted from green algae (i.e., ulvans) and brown algae (i.e., fucoidans) could be potential antiviral therapeutic agents against SARS-CoV-2.