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Published (Version of record)CC BY V4.0, Open Access
Published (Version of record)CC BY V4.0, Open
Journal article
A systematic review on the effects of Echinacea supplementation on cytokine levels: Is there a role in COVID-19?
Metabolism Open, Vol.11, pp.1-32
09/2021
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Abstract
COVID-19 is the respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2. Cytokine storm appears to be a factor in COVID-19 mortality. Echinacea species have been used historically for immune modulation. A previous rapid review suggested that Echinacea supplementation may decrease the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines involved in cytokine storm. The objective of the present systematic review was to identify all research that has assessed changes in levels of cytokines relevant to cytokine storm in response to administration of Echinacea supplementation. The following databases were searched: Medline (Ovid), AMED (Ovid), CINAHL (EBSCO), EMBASE (Ovid). Title and abstract screening, full text screening, and data extraction were completed in duplicate using a piloted extraction template. Risk of bias assessment was completed. Qualitative analysis was used to assess for trends in cytokine level changes. The search identified 279 unique publications. After full text screening, 105 studies met criteria for inclusion including 13 human studies, 24 animal studies, and 71 in vitro or ex vivo studies. The data suggest that Echinacea supplementation may be associated with a decrease in the pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-6, IL-8, and TNF, as well as an increase in the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10. The risk of bias in the included studies was generally high. While there is currently no substantive research on the therapeutic effects of Echinacea in the management of either cytokine storm or COVID-19, the present evidence related to the herb's impact on cytokine levels suggests that further research may be warranted in the form of a clinical trial involving patients with COVID-19.
Details
- Title
- A systematic review on the effects of Echinacea supplementation on cytokine levels: Is there a role in COVID-19?
- Creators
- Monique Aucoin - Canadian College of Naturopathic MedicineValentina Cardozo - Canadian College of Naturopathic MedicineMeagan D McLaren - Canadian College of Naturopathic MedicineAnna Garber - Canadian College of Naturopathic MedicineDaniella Remy - Canadian College of Naturopathic MedicineJoy Baker - Canadian College of Naturopathic MedicineAdam Gratton - Canadian College of Naturopathic MedicineMohammed Ali Kala - Canadian College of Naturopathic MedicineSasha Monteiro - Canadian College of Naturopathic MedicineCara Warder - Canadian College of Naturopathic MedicineAlessandra Perciballi - Canadian College of Naturopathic MedicineKieran Cooley - Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine
- Publication Details
- Metabolism Open, Vol.11, pp.1-32
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Identifiers
- 991012968366102368
- Copyright
- © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
- Academic Unit
- Faculty of Science and Engineering; School of Environment, Science and Engineering; Science; National Centre for Naturopathic Medicine
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article