Study: quercetin in the early stages of Covid
Study: quercetin in the early stages of Covid
In this study, it was examined whether quercetin is effective as a possible complementary means for COVID-19 in early stages. A randomized clinical study with 108 participants was carried out, which either received quercetin in combination with the standard supply or only received the standard supply. It was found that the group, the quercetin, the virus removed faster and experienced an earlier improvement in the symptoms than the control group. These results indicate that Quercetin could be a potentially effective addition to the treatment of COVID-19. However, some restrictions were found, such as a significant age difference between the groups and a low sample size. Nevertheless, doctors could consider to offer quercetin as a safe and inexpensive option to treat COVID-19 symptoms.
Details of the study:
This article is part of our special edition "Immune Health" from May 2023. href = "https://issuu.com/impactheALTHMEDIA/Docs/nmjmag23_post-viral_final"> Download the full issue here .
Reference
Di Pierro F, Kham a, iqtadar s, et al. Quotetin as a possible complementary remedy for Covid-19 in early stages: final results of a randomized clinical study. front Pharmacol . 2023; 13: 1096853.
study goal
to assess possible therapeutic effects of quercetin in outpatient patients with mild to moderate symptoms of Covid-19 in early stage.
Key to take away
In this study eliminated patients who took quercetin in the early stages of Covid, the virus and experienced a significantly earlier improvement in symptoms than those in a control group.
Design
Open, randomized, controlled clinical study.
participant
There were 108 participants who started with the study and were assigned to a treatment or control group in a ratio of 1: 1. There were 4 participants per group that got off, so that a total of 50 participants remained per group (50 % women in the control group; 54 % women in the quercetin group). A significant difference between the groups was that the treatment group had an average age of 41.1 years and the control group had an average age of 54.1 years.
The inclusion criteria included a minimum age of 18 years, positive RT-PCR test results (reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction) and easy to medium-heavy covid-19-symptoms, defined as: fever, breath short, dry cough, myalgia and/or weakness. In addition, the participants had to have an O
The exclusion criteria included an allergy to quercetin, chronic kidney disease, pregnancy, severe hypotension, a moderate to severe thrombocytopenia and the intake of an immunostimulant before the inscription.
Comorbidities and symptom profiles between the groups were well coordinated. This process took place in Lahore, Pakistan. The racial identity was not mentioned in the newspaper. Remarkably, none of the participants was vaccinated.
Intervention
The participants received 500 mg quercetin phytosome three times a day for 1 week and twice a day as a supplement to the standard supply. The control group received only a standardized supply; No placebo was used.
studied study parameters
In this study, the SARS-COV-2 infection was measured using RT-PCR tests as well as the prevalence and severity of the symptoms, as were clinically judged by outpatient doctors. In addition, the researchers assessed the laboratory values of C-reactive protein (CRP), D-Dimer, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), ferritin and a complete blood count (CBC).
primary result
The primary results evaluated in this study were the time required to achieve a negative Sars-Cov-2-RT-PCR test, and an improvement in acute symptoms after 1 and 2 weeks, as judged by an outpatient doctor. The secondary results included laboratory changes in the same period.
most important findings
In the quercetin treatment group, there were significantly more participants compared to the control group, which were tested negatively for the SARS-COV-2 virus after one week (68 % vs. 24 %). p = 0.0004). Interestingly, almost all participants, regardless of the group, had eliminated the virus (98 % in the treatment group and 94 % in the control group).
The clinical resolution of acute symptoms was also faster in the treatment group (52 %) than in the control group (24 %; p = 0.0031). Here, too, both groups seemed to go equally well after two weeks, whereby "most patients" were free of symptoms - although the article did not contain this specific data record.
Transparency
The quercetin phytosome used in this experiment was donated by two companies (pharmextracta and Indena) that sell the quercetin phytosome; 4 of the 13 authors sit on the board of the companies mentioned.
Effects and restrictions for practice
While we learn to coexist with Sars-Cov-2, all information about how we can alleviate the effects and improve the treatment results for patients. From a clinical point of view, the most convincing component of this study was the accessibility of the intervention: the quercetin phytosome was dosed three times a day with 500 mg in the first week and in the following week with 500 mg twice a day. In addition, the participants told the intervention well, no side effects were reported.
However, the study has some significant restrictions. The first is the significant age difference between the treatment group (average age 41.1 years) and the control group (average age 54.1 years). Since the age is one of the main risk factors for acute complications of a SARS-COV-2 infection, it is difficult to say whether we can attribute the advantages observed in the treatment group to quercetin or only to the younger age. The low sample size is also a disadvantage - even if a frequent disadvantage when evaluating complementary treatments. In addition, we can only assume how these results can be transferred to a vaccinated population.
Despite these restrictions, the results are impressive after one week; Certainly, many of our patients would like to get rid of the virus faster and thus shorten the period in which they could possibly infect others. In addition, many patients would be very happy about any intervention that shortens their acute symptomatic phase. Taking these two things into account, I think that many doctors could be willing to offer this safe, relatively inexpensive and possibly advantageous intervention.
Another convincing result was the similarity between the two groups after two weeks. At that time, almost all patients had overcome the virus and were asymptomatic. In other words, while phytosomal quercetin seemed to accelerate recovery, both groups finally recovered after two weeks. This fast recovery could partly be due to the average age of both groups, their outpatient status and (possibly) the lack of comorbidities (although these were not clearly defined in the article).
Fortunately,Most people who are suffering from Covid are recovering. With less age and lack of complicated health factors, the likelihood increases significantly. The statistics fluctuate in how much percent of these patients later develop symptoms of long-covid, and we could certainly use more clarity about the definition and prevalence of this syndrome. It would be interesting to determine whether quercetin intervention influences the development of long-covid symptoms, although the low sample size would probably rule out statistically significant data.
Nevertheless, Phytosomal quercetin can be an accessible and safe option for patients who want to shorten their symptomatic covid diseases, even if the clearance is the most likely natural course of the infection.