Melatonin as an add on therapy for SARS CoV-19 pandemic

Abstract

COVID-19 has been reported in over 4.1 million people worldwide as of May 11, 2020 and has resulted in more than 2,83,000 deaths. As of June 6, globally 66,63,304 confirmed cases and 3,92,802 deaths. More than 180 countries on all continents except Antarctica have reported laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19. Unlike SARS-CoV, however, which infected just 8,000 people worldwide in 8 months, the new SARS-CoV-2, estimated to be up to 1,000 times more infectious than SARS-CoV or other coronaviruses, has already infected more than 1,20,000 people worldwide in under three months. Melatonin (N-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine) is a serotonin derivative bioactive molecule released from the pineal gland in the brain with an array of health-promoting properties. Melatonin slows and inhibits thymic involution, and promotes thymocyte regeneration and indirectly regulates the expression of ACE2, a key entry receptor involved in human coronavirus virus infection, like 2019-nCoV / SARS-CoV-2. Melatonin can act as a hormone, paracrine, autocrine or tissue factor to coordinate immune system function. Although melatonin has various properties in different cells of the body, it actively involved in reducing viral infections.