Chemical found in leafy greens shown to slow growth of COVID-19 and
common cold viruses

Date:
March 23, 2022
Source:
Johns Hopkins Medicine
Summary:
A study in mice and lab-grown cells finds sulforaphane could
help prevent and treat illnesses caused by certain coronaviruses,
including COVID-19.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Researchers at Johns Hopkins Children's Center report evidence from lab experiments that a chemical derived from a compound found abundantly in broccoli and other cruciferous plants may offer a potentially new and
potent weapon against the viruses that cause COVID-19 and the common
cold. COVID-19 has already killed more than 6 million people worldwide,
and studies have shown that common colds cost an estimated economic loss
of $25 billion in the U.S.

alone each year.


==========================================================================
In a study described March 18 in the Nature journal Communications
Biology, the scientists showed that sulforaphane, a plant-derived
chemical, known as a phytochemical, already found to have anti-cancer
effects, can inhibit the replication of SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that
causes COVID-19, and another human coronavirus in cells and mice.

While the results are promising, the researchers caution the public
against rushing to buy sulforaphane supplements available online and
in stores, noting that studies of sulforaphane in humans are necessary
before the chemical is proven effective, and emphasizing the lack of
regulation covering such supplements.

Sulforaphane's natural precursor is particularly abundant in
broccoli, cabbage, kale and Brussels sprouts. First identified as a "chemopreventive" compound by a team of Johns Hopkins scientists decades
ago, natural sulforaphane is derived from common food sources, such as
broccoli seeds, sprouts and mature plants, as well as infusions of sprouts
or seeds for drinking. Previous studies, including those at Johns Hopkins Medicine, have shown sulforaphane to have cancer and infection-prevention properties by way of interfering with certain cellular processes.

"When the COVID-19 pandemic started, our multidisciplinary research
teams switched our investigations of other viruses and bacteria to focus
on a potential treatment for what was then a challenging new virus for
us," says Children's Center microbiologist Lori Jones-Brando, Ph.D., an assistant professor of pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins University School
of Medicine and the senior author of the paper. "I was screening multiple compounds for anti- coronavirus activity and decided to try sulforaphane
since it has shown modest activity against other microbial agents that we study." The researchers used purified, synthetic sulforaphane purchased
from commercial chemical suppliers in their experiments.

In one experiment, the research team first exposed cells to sulforaphane
for one to two hours before infecting the cells with SARS-CoV-2 and the
common cold coronavirus, HCoV-OC43. They found that low micromolar (myM) concentrations of sulforaphane (2.4-31 myM) reduced the replication by 50%
of six strains of SARS-CoV-2, including the delta and omicron variants,
as well as that of the HCoV-OC43 coronavirus. The investigators also
observed similar results with cells that had been previously infected
with the viruses, in which the protective effects of sulforaphane were
seen even with an already established virus infection.



==========================================================================
The group also examined the effects of sulforaphane when combined
with remdesivir, an antiviral medication used to shorten the recovery
of hospitalized adults with COVID-19 infections. In their findings,
remdesivir inhibited 50% of the replication of HCoV-OC43 and SARS-CoV-2
at 22 myM and 4 myM, respectively. Further, the research team reports
that sulforaphane and remdesivir interacted synergistically at several combination ratios to reduce by 50% the viral burden in cells infected
with HCoV-OC43 or SARS-CoV-2. In this context, synergism means that lower
doses of both sulforaphane (for example, 1.6-3.2 myM) and remdesivir
(for example, 0.5-3.2 myM), when combined, are more effective against
the viruses than either applied alone.

"Historically, we have learned that the combination of multiple
compounds in a treatment regimen is an ideal strategy to treat viral infections," says Alvaro Ordonez, M.D., the first author of the paper
and an assistant professor of pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins University
School of Medicine. "The fact that sulforaphane and remdesivir work
better combined than alone is very encouraging." The researchers then conducted studies in a mouse model of SARS-CoV- 2 infection. They found
that giving 30 milligrams of sulforaphane per kilogram of body weight to
mice before infecting them with the virus significantly decreased the
loss of body weight that's typically associated with virus infection
(7.5% decrease). Further, the pretreatment resulted in a statistically significant decrease in both the viral load, or amount of virus, in the
lungs (17% decrease) and upper respiratory tract (9% decrease) as well as
the amount of lung injury (29% decrease) compared with infected mice that
were not given sulforaphane. The compound also decreased inflammation
in the lungs, protecting the cells from a hyperactive immune response
that seems to be one of the driving factors that has caused many people
to die from COVID-19.

"What we found is that sulforaphane is antiviral against HCoV-OC43 and
SARS- CoV-2 coronaviruses while also helping control the immune response," Ordonez says. "This multifunctional activity makes it an interesting
compound to use against these viral infections, as well as those caused
by other human coronaviruses." The team plans to conduct studies in
humans to evaluate if sulforaphane can be effective in preventing or
treating these infections.

"Despite the introduction of vaccines and other medications that can
have side effects, effective antiviral agents are still necessary to
prevent and treat COVID-19, particularly considering the potential
effects of new coronavirus variants arising in the population,"
Jones-Brando says. "Sulforaphane could be a promising treatment that is
less expensive, safe and readily available commercially." Along with Jones-Brando and Ordonez, other Johns Hopkins Medicine authors of the
paper include C. Korin Bullen, Andres F. Villabona-Rueda, Elizabeth A.

Thompson, Mitchell L. Turner, Vanessa F. Merino, Yu Yan, John Kim,
Stephanie L.

Davis, Oliver Komm, Jonathan D. Powell, Franco R. D'Alessio, Robert
H. Yolken and Sanjay K. Jain.

The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health, Mercatus
Center, the Center for Infection and Inflammation Imaging Research at
the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the Stanley Medical Research Institute.

Jones-Brando, Ordonez, Yolken and Jain are co-inventors on a pending
patent application (USPA 22 719 #63/142,598), "Methods for inhibiting coronaviruses using sulforaphane" filed by The Johns Hopkins
University. All other authors have no competing interests.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Johns_Hopkins_Medicine. Note:
Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Alvaro A. Ordonez, C. Korin Bullen, Andres F. Villabona-Rueda,
Elizabeth
A. Thompson, Mitchell L. Turner, Vanessa F. Merino, Yu Yan,
John Kim, Stephanie L. Davis, Oliver Komm, Jonathan D. Powell,
Franco R. D'Alessio, Robert H. Yolken, Sanjay K. Jain, Lorraine
Jones-Brando. Sulforaphane exhibits antiviral activity against
pandemic SARS-CoV-2 and seasonal HCoV-OC43 coronaviruses in
vitro and in mice. Communications Biology, 2022; 5 (1) DOI:
10.1038/s42003-022-03189-z ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/03/220323125056.htm

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