Discovery of Immunomodulators from Plant Kingdom Targeting IL-6 for the Effective Management Therapy of SARS-CoV-2

The present study was conducted because of the recent scenario of this pandemic coronavirus outbreak worldwide. Currently, this disease cannot be treated through specific vaccines and therapeutic medicines. While many vaccines are being investigated, it would take some time for these to be accessible to the masses. Eventual evidence indicates that many COVID-19 patients may die from an irregular release of cytokines called as Cytokine Release Syndrome (CRS) due to the excessive reaction of their immune systems. In worsening patients with COVID-19, CRS played a significant role, from pneumonia via ARDS to cumulative systemic inflammation and eventually to a failing of the multi-system organ. In COVID-19 individuals, a large number of cytokines, including IL-6, IL-1, IL-2, IL-10, TNF- α, and IFN- α, participate in the ‘cytokine storm,’ but IL-6, whose higher serum levels are associated with respiratory failure, ARDS, and adverse clinical outcomes, tends to be a critical factor. In China, the COVID-19 mortality indicator has been tested by a multi-centre retrospective analysis in 150 COVID-19 patients. The study analysed that 82 cases are resolved from COVID-19 and 68 cases are dead due to enhancement of IL-6 levels in the serum. In this research, the secondary plant metabolites from Indian traditional medicine are identified through a computational technique and the selected seedling metabolite is sealed to block the IL-6 receptor.