Possible role of Andrographis paniculata for management of COVID-19: An observation on vimentin-related pathway

Pathum Sookaromdee; Viroj Wiwanitkit

doi:10.4103/hmj.hmj_55_22

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Year : 2022 | Volume : 15 | Issue : 4 | Page : 206-208

Possible role of Andrographis paniculata for management of COVID-19: An observation on vimentin-related pathway

Pathum Sookaromdee¹, Viroj Wiwanitkit²
¹ Private Academic Consultant, Bangkok, Thailand
² Department of Community Medicine, Dr. DY Patil Uiversity, Pune, Maharashtra, India; Department of Biological Science, Joseph Ayo Babalola University, Ikeji-Arakeji, Osun State, Nigeria; Department of Tropical Medicine, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, China; Department of Medical Science, Faculty of Medicine, University of Nis, Nis, Serbia

Date of Submission	21-Jun-2022
Date of Decision	06-Jul-2022
Date of Acceptance	20-Jul-2022
Date of Web Publication	22-Dec-2022

Correspondence Address:
Pathum Sookaromdee
Private Academic Consultant, 11 Bangkok 122, Bangkok 103300
Thailand

Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None

DOI: 10.4103/hmj.hmj_55_22

Abstract

Background: The use of traditional plants in the treatment of the medical problem is fascinating. Many studies on the benefits of traditional herbs on a variety of medical conditions, including respiratory disease, are now underway. Aims and Objectives: This study aim to asses the possible role of Andrographis paniculata, an Asian herb, for management of COVID-19. Materials and Methods: We employed network pharmacology to find a shared biological link between the pharmacological impact of Andrographis paniculata, a traditional Asian herb, and the pathophysiological process of COVID-19 in this short research. Results: The authors were able to find the common pathway through the vimentin node using interrelationship analysis. Conclusion: A. paniculata may be useful in the treatment of COVID-19.

Keywords: Andrographis paniculata, COVID-19, effect

How to cite this article:
Sookaromdee P, Wiwanitkit V. Possible role of Andrographis paniculata for management of COVID-19: An observation on vimentin-related pathway. Hamdan Med J 2022;15:206-8

How to cite this URL:
Sookaromdee P, Wiwanitkit V. Possible role of Andrographis paniculata for management of COVID-19: An observation on vimentin-related pathway. Hamdan Med J [serial online] 2022 [cited 2023 Feb 1];15:206-8. Available from: http://www.hamdanjournal.org/text.asp?2022/15/4/206/364689

Introduction

Alternative and complementary medicine has a place in today's society. At this time, there are various traditional medical systems available. Traditional medicine frequently employs the usage of traditional herbs. It is intriguing to learn about the usage of traditional plants in the treatment of medical illnesses. Many plants are thought to be beneficial in the treatment of a variety of ailments. Many recent studies, like COVID-19,^[1],[2] have been published on the advantages of traditional herbs for a variety of diseases. In this short study, we used network pharmacology to find a shared biological link between the pharmacological impact of Andrographis paniculata, a traditional Asian plant,^[3] and the pathophysiological process of COVID-19, a major global health problem at present. The authors were able to demonstrate the common pathway through the vimentin node using interrelationship analysis. A. paniculata may be useful in the treatment of COVID-19.

Materials and Methods

This research is in the field of clinical informatics. The network study of biological processes was completed. Based on the concept of network pharmacology, the effect of a traditional Asian herb is assessed for its relationship with the pathophysiological process of COVID-19, a major respiratory tract infection at present.^[4] Direct database mining using standard international databases, PubMed and Scopus, yielded information on biological processes involving A. paniculata and COVID-19. This study's in silico bioinformatics technique is identical to that used in the previous research.^[5]

Data for this in silico medical informatics study were extracted from multinational databases. First, standard databases were searched for published data on the pharmacobiological effects of A. paniculata and the pathophysiological effects of COVID-19. PubMed (www.pubmed.com) and Scopus (www.scopus.com) were used as international databases. To find publications for additional investigation, the key phrases 'COVID-19' and 'A. paniculata' were employed. All resulting articles are analysed for pathogenic and pharmacological processes. The resultant pathological/pharmacological processes documented in the recruited article were gathered and used for more in-depth interrelationship analysis.

A common pathopharmacological pathway was first determined for interrelationship analysis. The method is based on bioinformatics analysis, which involves discovering verbatim word-for-word matches of pathological/pharmacology processes reported in the literature. The identified biological processes, both the pharmacological and pathophysiological processes of A. paniculata and COVID-19, were enumerated and a common pathway was searched utilising a conventional strategy as stated in the referencing literature.^[5]

In summary, the pharmacological actions of A. paniculata and the pathophysiological actions of COVID-19 were evaluated to discover shared biological pathways. Both COVID-19 and A. paniculata's common cross processes have a shared node. The common node is discovered and utilised to construct the final interrelationship network by connecting the discovered common node to other nodes. After the final creation of the common pathway with a common node connection, the network pathway diagram exhibiting the association between pathological/pharmacology processes and COVID-19 is derived. The conclusion is based on the final network pathway diagram generated from the above-mentioned in silico network research.

Results

Vimentin appears to be a common link between the pharmacological and pathophysiological processes of A. paniculata and COVID-19, according to the data. The final interrelationship network is shown in [Figure 1] after further interrelationship network research.

Figure 1: Interrelationship network showing the interrelationship between pharmacological process of Andrographis paniculata and pathophysiological process of COVID-19 at with sharing node at vimentin

Click here to view

Discussion

Traditional herbal regimens can be evaluated using bioinformatics clinical pharmacology network analysis.^[6],[7],[8] The method is based on informatics analysis, which comprises discovering paths, identifying common nodes, rearrangement and finally the creation of an interrelationship network. This is the typical clinical informatics analysis^[5],[9],[10] that was employed in previous investigations. The authors undertake a preliminary enquiry to investigate the efficacy of A. paniculata, a well-known plant, in the treatment of COVID-19 in this short preliminary study.

A. paniculata is a well-known Asian herb in clinical pharmacology. Its role in respiratory tract disease management is widely studied and confirmed.^[11],[12] Some reports suggest A. paniculata's antiviral potential in relation to the influenza virus.^[11],[12] However, there is a scarcity of information regarding coronavirus infection. Regarding COVID-19, the new emerging disease, A. paniculata is one of the few herbs that are previously screened and proven for a possible role in the management of COVID-19.^[13] After its first repurposing for use against COVID-19, A. paniculata becomes a widely locally used drug in many areas. In Southeast Asia, some nations have already declared to use A. paniculata for management of the COVID-19 at present, although there is no complete clinical trial to support it.^[14],[15]

Conceptually, the first step to further proposing using of A. paniculata is the identification of its possible pharmacological action process. The current study adds to the growing body of data that A. paniculata may be useful in the treatment of COVID-19. According to the findings, the pharmacological process of A. paniculata and the pathological process of COVID-19 share a common node at vimentin. Vimentin is a critical target for COVID-19 antiviral therapy, and new medicines that target vimentin are currently being developed.^[16] Vimentin is a coreceptor and/or attachment site for SARS-CoV-2 and it is involved in viral replication in cells.^[16] Therefore, vimentin plays a critical role in both viral infections.^[16] A. paniculata has been shown to inhibit vimentin expression.^[17] Andrographolide is the main active compound in A. paniculate that is able to suppress vimentin expression.^[17] The in vitro study on the lung cancer cell model also showed the anti-SARS-CoV2 of the herb.^[18]

Meanwhile, using vimentin in the replication process is a crucial pathogenic event, the attachment to host cell, in COVID-19.^[16] COVID-19 is a valuable traditional herb for COVID-19 control because A. paniculata may have an anti-COVID-19 effect. Ethnopharmacology research on the use of indigenous herbs is a fascinating topic. The latest research adds to the expanding body of data that A. paniculata can help people with COVID-19. The current medical informatics investigation can provide preliminary data for future in vitro and in vivo research on the anti-COVID-19 effects of A. paniculata. A crucial limitation/deficiency of the current work is the fundamental nature of in silico bioinformatics research. All of the conclusions in this study are based on in silico prediction. It is currently unproven and inadequately rigorous to draw definitive conclusions, but it does provide useful data for future research.

A. paniculata has an effect on reducing vimentin expression, and COVID-19 has a pathological process that employs vimentin in the replication process, according to the current informatics study. A. paniculata, on the other hand, will not be a useful traditional herb for the treatment of COVID-19 without scientific evidence to back it up. More in vitro and in vivo research are needed to support the early in silico study. This study is conceptually an in silico study, which is a frequent bioinformatics technique; as a result, more in vitro and in vivo tests are required to arrive at a definitive outcome. Updated Thai traditional medicine guidelines (2021 versions) now encourage utilising A. paniculata as part of a herbal combination with a modern antiviral drug in the treatment of COVID-19.^[15] There is supportive clinical data published in a local Thai non-approved journal that the A. paniculata had a good clinical utility in the management of COVID-19 and can reduce the severity of the patients.^[19] However, as earlier noted, there is still no supporting evidence from standard clinical trials to verify the exact clinical effect of the herb for the management of COVID-19. Finally, the shortcomings of the present study should be mentioned. The model cannot assess the dose effect, which is an important limitation.

Conclusion

A. paniculata's pharmacological process and COVID-19's pathological process share a node at vimentin. It demonstrates that A. paniculata has pharmacological effects that can aid in the reduction of the COVID-19 virus. As a result, A. paniculata could be a useful traditional COVID-19 treatment. Nonetheless, this study's findings are based on bioinformatics predictions. Due to the limitations imposed by the nature of the in silico study, more research is required to reach an acceptable and rigorous conclusion. As a result, more research into the usage of A. paniculata for COVID-19 treatment is required.

Ethical statement

The study is not a study on human or animal subjects and does not involve clinical sample, therefore, the local ethical committee approval is not applicable.

Financial support and sponsorship

Nil.

Conflicts of interest

There are no conflicts of interest.

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