A new clinical study has shown that daily intake of a Nasafytol - an oral combination of Quercetin, Curcumin and Vitamin D3 - results in more rapid clearance of the SARS-CoV-2 viral infection.
The study was published by Frontiers in Pharmacology, and was a randomised controlled clinical trial conducted at the Department of Medicine, King Edward Medical University, Lahore, PK under the supervision of Dr Amjad Khan.
The clinical trial compared the treatment effect of Nasafytol as add-on to the standard of care (SOC) vs SOC alone (control group) in the early-stage mild to moderately symptomatic RT-PCR confirmed COVID-19 outpatients. The standard of care included paracetamol and/or antibiotic azithromycin. Patients in the Nasafytol group received two capsules twice a day for 14 days. Patients in both groups received the same SOC.
A total of 50 randomised patients (25 in each treatment group) completed the study. Patients who received the Nasafytol adjuvant therapy showed expedited negativization of the nasopharyngeal swab SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR test at day 7, i.e; 15 (60.0%) vs 5 (20.0%) of the control group, p = 0.009. COVID-19 associated acute symptoms were more rapidly resolved in the Nasafytol group at day 7, i.e; 15 (60.0%) vs 10 (40.0%) of the control group.
Patients in the Nasafytol group showed a significant greater fall in the serum CRP levels at day 7, i.e; from medium34.0 to 11 mg/dL as compared to the control group, i.e; from 36.0 to 22.0 mg/dL, p = 0.006. The Nasafytol adjuvant therapy was safe and well-tolerated by all 25 patients and no treatment emergent effects, complications, side-effects, or serious adverse events were reported.
The combination of Quercetin, Curcumin, and Vitamin D3 is a scientifically-backed safe adjuvant to treat COVID-19 in the early-stage
Quercetin, and Curcumin, the two extensively studied natural polyphenols, reportedly possess broad-spectrum anti-viral, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, and antioxidant pharmacological effects, and vitamin D3 is also a well-known immunomodulatory agent. The inhibition of the SARS-CoV-2 viral replication and simultaneously modulation of the host hyper-inflammatory response in the early stage of COVID-19 infection is considered as crucial for the speedy recovery and prevention of progression to severe illness.
The two polyphenols had previously shown inhibition of coronaviruses in in vitro assays, and more recently have shown inhibitory activities against SARS-COV-2. “The combination of Quercetin, Curcumin, and Vitamin D3 is a scientifically-backed safe adjuvant to treat COVID-19 in the early-stage; and the results shown by Nasafytol are very encouraging and likely due to effective synergistic immunomodulatory, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antiviral mechanisms of Quercetin, Curcumin and Vitamin D3”, said Dr Amjad Khan.
The use of immunomodulatory/anti-inflammatory therapies in clinically vulnerable COVID-19 patients such as those with underlying health conditions or immunocompromised patients, may also cause immune-suppression, which can increase the risk of development of secondary bacterial or fungal infection and hence progression to severe illness.
On the contrary, Quercetin, Curcumin and Vitamin D3 naturally have no immune-suppression effect. Quercetin, and Curcumin are safe agents and have received the FDA GRASS (Generally Recognised As Safe) status for human use in dietary products. In combination with routine care, the adjuvant use of Nasafytol may help in the speedier recovery of early-stage mild-to-moderately symptomatic COVID-19 infection, facilitated by early clearance of the SARS-CoV-2 viral infection and modulation of the immune response.