Valeo Pharma Inc. , a Canadian pharmaceutical company, provided comments on a recently issued newsletter by MDBriefCase entitled "Exploring Novel Therapeutic Approaches for Covid-19: Hesperidin vs Vitamin C". 

According to the newsletter, Hesperidin has recently attracted the attention of researchers, because it binds to key proteins of SARS-CoV-2. This may interfere with viral entry into host cells4.

In Wu et. al (2020),  the screening of 1066 natural substances with potential antiviral effect, plus 78 antiviral drugs already known in the literature for their binding to SARS-CoV-2 proteins, Hesperidin was the only compound  that could target the binding interface between viral Spike proteins and ACE-2 human receptors2.

Hesperidin can also bind to 3CLpro – the main protease responsible for the cleavage of SARS-CoV-2 peptides into functional units for virus replication and packaging within the host cells1,3 . By doing so, it may help against COVID-19 viral replication4.  

The newsletter continued that cytokine storm is a major cause of acute respiratory distress syndrome, which is the main reason for hospitalization of COVID-19 patients5,6.  Chronic inflammation may also contribute to impaired quality of life in COVID-19 survivors7. Hesperidin is a potent antioxidant and its anti-inflammatory activity may help in controlling cytokine storm1,4.

In discussing vitamin C, the newsletter noted that vitamin C did not demonstrate affinity to receptors that would interfere with SARS-CoV-2 infectivity2. Further, many studies on the efficacy of vitamin C in preventing respiratory diseases are inconclusive or negative1. A complementary therapeutic effect of intravenous high doses of vitamin C has been reported and clinical trials are ongoing1.

In conclusion, the newsletter stated that recently accumulated evidence suggests that Hesperidin supplementation may be useful as a prophylactic agent against SARS-Cov-2 infection and as a complementary treatment during COVID-19 disease1.

"There is a growing body of scientific evidence suggesting that the flavonoid "Hesperidin" has certain properties that may prove useful in the management of COVID-19", said Steve Saviuk, Valeo's President and Chief Executive officer. "Hesperidin can be found in lower dose formats in a number of natural health products. HespercoTM, Valeo's unique Hesperidin formulation, is the only format available where every capsule contains 500mg of concentrated Hesperidin. In addition to being available for online ordering on www.hesperco.com and www.amazon.ca, we anticipate that HespercoTM will be available at major retailers across Canada in early 2021".

Additional scientific information regarding Hesperidin is available at www.ingenewpharma.com, scientific partner to Valeo Pharma Inc.

References

1. Bellavite P, Donzelli A. Hesperidin and SARS-CoV-2: New Light on the Healthy Function of Citrus Fruits. Antioxidants (Basel). 2020;9(8). doi:10.3390/antiox9080742

2. Wu C, Liu Y, Yang Y, et al. Analysis of therapeutic targets for SARS-CoV-2 and discovery of potential drugs by computational methods. Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B. 2020;10(5):766-788. doi:10.1016/j.apsb.2020.02.008

3. Liu C, Zhou Q, Li Y, et al. Research and Development on Therapeutic Agents and Vaccines for COVID-19 and Related Human Coronavirus Diseases. ACS Cent Sci. 2020;6(3):315-331. doi:10.1021/acscentsci.0c00272

4. Haggag YA, El-Ashmawy NE, Okasha KM. Is hesperidin essential for prophylaxis and treatment of COVID-19 Infection? Med Hypotheses. 2020;144:109957. doi:10.1016/j.mehy.2020.109957

5. Chowdhury MA, Hossain N, Kashem MA, Shahid MdA, Alam A. Immune response in COVID-19: A review. J Infect Public Health. 2020;13(11):1619-1629. doi:10.1016/j.jiph.2020.07.001

6. Zhou F, Yu T, Du R, et al. Clinical course and risk factors for mortality of adult inpatients with COVID-19 in Wuhan, China: a retrospective cohort study. The Lancet. 2020;395(10229):1054-1062. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30566- 3

7. Raman B, Cassar MP, Tunnicliffe EM, et al. Medium-term effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection on multiple vital organs, exercise capacity, cognition, quality of life and mental health, post-hospital discharge. medRxiv. Published online October 18, 2020:2020.10.15.20205054. doi:10.1101/2020.10.15.20205054