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After substance that led to aspirin, willow bark holds potential new treatments against viral infections like COVID-19
Hopes for a new antiviral treatment – sentinel against the health challenges of the future are given by the findings of Finnish researchers, according to which an extract of willow bark demonstrated potent antiviral activity in laboratory cell tests.
THE salicin secreted by the bark of the “magical” tree, the precursor to aspirin that provided pain relief to ancient peoples such as the Sumerians, the Egyptians and the Greeks, can neutralize enveloped coronaviruses such as those responsible for COVID-19 and the common cold, as well as non-enveloped enteroviruses such as meningitis, a family of viruses for which there is currently no drug available.
From the flu and cold to a gastrointestinal infection, the need for “finding treatments that will reduce the “viral load” of our daily lives» with safety and guaranteed results according to the statements of Varpu Marjomäki, professor at the University of Jyväskylä and lead author of the study published in Frontiers in Microbiology. New antiviral treatments, he explains, could enhance vaccine protection against constantly emerging new strains and variants of viruses.
Two mechanisms of neutralization
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Willow extract, as produced from harvested stems of the tree that were cut, frozen, ground and mixed with hot water, had been shown to be effective against enteroviruses in a previous experiment by the research team. For the new study, its timing and mechanisms of action were tested against Coxsackieviruses Type A and B and two coronaviruses, a seasonal and SARS-CoV-2, through the control test of cytopathic results, of the changes that occur in a cell after it is infected by a virus.
The results showed that the extract did not damage the cells and effectively protected them from contamination. Subsequently, a receptor binding assay on the SARS-CoV-2 samples further showed that the virus could not reproduce even if it had succeeded in attaching to and entering the cells.
In particular, it was found that the willow extract acts on the surface of the virus and not at any specific stage of its replication cycle, while for each type of virus it was revealed different mechanism of action. The essence of the bark destroy the coronaviruses with housing and prevented enteroviruses from releasing their genomes and replicating.
On the way to new treatments
The researchers tested medicinal preparations based on compounds from willow bark, as well as commercial salicin in powder or extract form, finding that only the latter displayed them antiviral properties. Its effectiveness, they commented, possibly results from interactions of different bioactive compounds which, however, they were unable to determine through the examination of their chemical composition. If they succeed, Dr. Marjomäki said, they will pave the way for the development of revolutionary new treatments.