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The emerging role of probiotics as a mitigation strategy against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)
Rasoul Mirzaei1,2, Adeleh Attar3, Saher Papizadeh4
1Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran.
Insights
Probiotics may help prevent respiratory infections like COVID-19 by boosting immune responses. Research suggests specific probiotic strains could be beneficial, but more scientific evidence is needed to confirm their effectiveness.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Immunology
- Infectious Diseases
Background:
- COVID-19, a severe respiratory illness caused by SARS-CoV-2, lacks efficient therapies.
- Probiotics modulate the gut microbiome to enhance immune system function and responses.
- Probiotics have shown potential in reducing the duration of various infections.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the effectiveness of probiotics in preventing virus-induced respiratory infections.
- To explore the potential application of probiotics for COVID-19 prevention and management.
- To highlight the importance of strain-specificity in probiotic efficacy.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of studies on probiotics and viral respiratory infections.
- Analysis of mechanisms by which probiotics influence immune pathways.
- Synthesis of current evidence on probiotic use for respiratory health.
Main Results:
- Probiotics can strengthen immune fitness, potentially reinforcing protection against viral infections.
- Certain probiotic strains have demonstrated efficacy in managing bacterial and viral infections.
- Probiotics may induce beneficial mucosal and systemic immune reactions relevant to COVID-19.
Conclusions:
- Probiotics are promising candidates for controlling respiratory viral infections, including COVID-19.
- Strain-specific benefits of probiotics must be identified for targeted applications.
- Further research is needed to establish scientifically validated probiotic strains for COVID-19.
Abstract:
COVID-19 is an acute respiratory infection accompanied by pneumonia caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which has affected millions of people globally. To date, there are no highly efficient therapies for this infection. Probiotic bacteria can interact with the gut microbiome to strengthen the immune system, enhance immune responses, and induce appropriate immune signaling pathways. Several probiotics have been confirmed to reduce the duration of bacterial or viral infections. Immune fitness may be one of the approaches by which protection against viral infections can be reinforced. In general, prevention is more efficient than therapy in fighting viral infections. Thus, probiotics have emerged as suitable candidates for controlling these infections. During the COVID-19 pandemic, any approach with the capacity to induce mucosal and systemic reactions could potentially be useful. Here, we summarize findings regarding the effectiveness of various probiotics for preventing virus-induced respiratory infectious diseases, especially those that could be employed for COVID-19 patients. However, the benefits of probiotics are strain-specific, and it is necessary to identify the bacterial strains that are scientifically established to be beneficial.
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