(InformingNews.com) – A John Hopkins Children’s Center study published on March 18 showed a compound called sulforaphane could work as an antiviral. The chemical is abundant in green leafy vegetables. Researchers believe it could be promising as a way to fight coronaviruses including COVID-19.
New Study Shows Chemical Found in Green Leafy Vegetables Can Slow the Spread and Treat Illnesses Caused by COVID-19 and Other Common Cold Viruses https://t.co/P7W9jFkQyk
— EasyNews24 (@EasyNews24) March 29, 2022
The paper’s senior author, Lori Jones-Brando, Ph.D., explained researchers found the chemical slows viral spread and treats active illnesses. In experiments using mice, sulforaphane stopped the SARS-CoV-2 virus from replicating. Alvaro Ordonez, MD, another lead contributor, explained the study showed sulforaphane combined with the antiviral remdesivir had the most promise. It controlled the immune response well.
Sulforaphane is present in cruciferous vegetables, which include broccoli, cauliflower, Brussel sprouts, bok choy, kale, and cabbage. The chemical also has shown effectiveness against cancer cells in previous studies.
Despite the promising results, the paper’s authors caution consumers against buying sulforaphane supplements as a COVID-19 cure. There have been no studies in humans, which must happen to ensure the reaction would be the same and to look for potential issues with such treatment measures. Also, they explain supplements have no regulation and can be dangerous.
The study could lead to further discoveries that help increase the arsenal of treatments and preventative measures against COVID-19. For now, the takeaway is that eating more leafy green vegetables certainly may help in the effort to stay healthy.
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