Review on Boosting up Body’s Natural Defence Mechanism and Suppression of Symptoms against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19)

Abstract

The prevailing global health crisis, posed by the pandemic COVID-19, has threatened the livelihood of the public around the world. The dramatic coronavirus surge (2019-nCoV) is denoted as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Initially, this deadly ailment was identified to have originated from bats and thereafter, passed on to human beings, in December 2019 via unknown modes of biological transmission in Wuhan, China. One of the leading causes of COVID-19 mortality could be attributed to respiratory failure (hypoxemic or hypercapnic) due to acute respiratory distress. From an immunological perspective, the virus triggers secondary haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, which results in fulminant, followed by fatal hypercytokinaemia alongside multiple organ failure, which happens in adults, in most of the predominant cases. As several scientific communities and researchers, tirelessly strive to find a suitable cure since there is a need for finding a registered medication/vaccine against COVID-19, it becomes quite pertinent for boosting our immune system. As the immune system, supports the body’s ability, as a fortress, to defend against pathogenic microbes, comprising of viruses, fungi, bacteria and protozoan species, thereby restricting infection. This review emphasizes the utilization of naturally-derived or otherwise plant-based supplements/foods that facilitate in enhancing or boosting the immunity against COVID-19, irrespective of one’s age. For a healthy lifestyle, the use of micro and macronutrients, such as: magnesium, zinc, vitamin-rich foods, especially vitamins C, D and E, since health could be enhanced and an individual could be further aided to overcome the infection. This report, majorly investigates the significance of antioxidants and their roles as immune boosters, through determining the various vitamins C and D-rich compounds, alongside the various secondary metabolites-endowed foods from various sources, which could most likely facilitate in improving immunity and thereby, controlling COVID-19.