Seaweed Extract Stops COVID in Early Testing

Dec. 6, 2021 -- A benignant of marine algae known arsenic ulva, oregon “sea lettuce,” that’s a fare staple successful places similar Japan, New Zealand, and Hawaii whitethorn person different payment for people. Lab experiments suggest that ulvan, an extract from this benignant of algae, whitethorn assistance combat COVID-19.

Other forms of edible seaweed person besides shown committedness arsenic antivirals against COVID -- astatine slightest successful precise aboriginal studies done successful trial tubes and animals. But ulvan has been tested arsenic an antiviral attraction against definite cultivation and quality viruses, too. This caused researchers to wonderment whether ulvan mightiness assistance forestall COVID infections.

To find out, scientists grew ulva algae successful a lab, extracted ulvan, and past exposed cells successful trial tubes to some the coronavirus and to ulvan. When cells were exposed to ulvan, they didn’t get infected with the coronavirus, according to experimentation results reported inPeerJ.

In Test Tubes

That said, it’s imaginable that the process utilized to extract ulvan from seaweed whitethorn interaction its antiviral properties. Investigators compared 2 extraction methods and recovered 1 of them resulted successful ulvan with much than 10 times the virus-fighting power. This suggests that much probe is needed to refine the champion method to make ulvan with the champion antiviral properties, the researchers constituent out.

One bounds of the experimentation is that differences successful the chemic makeup of the 2 extracts mightiness person influenced the outcome, making it hard to cognize for definite however overmuch of the antiviral enactment mightiness travel straight from ulvan arsenic opposed to these chemicals.

And adjacent if the seaweed extract proves effectual successful much laboratory tests, it would inactive request to beryllium tested successful animals and humans. But should it beryllium effectual successful quality trials, seaweed extract has the imaginable to assistance forestall COVID corruption successful radical who can’t easy spend oregon entree vaccines, peculiarly successful low-income countries, the survey authors conclude.