Can bilirubin nanomedicine become a hope for the management of COVID-19?
Date
2021-02-15Author
Khurana, Isha
Allawadhi, Prince
Khurana, Amit
Srivastava, Amit Kumar
Navik, Umashanker
Banothu, Anil Kumar
Bharani, Kala Kumar
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Bilirubin has been proven to possess significant anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and antiviral activities. Recently, it has been postulated as a metabolic hormone. Further, moderately higher levels of bilirubin are positively associated with reduced risk of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, metabolic syndrome and obesity. However, due to poor solubility the therapeutic delivery of bilirubin remains a challenge. Nanotechnology offers unique advantages which may be exploited for improved delivery of bilirubin to the target organ with reduced risk of systemic toxicity. Herein, we postulate the use of intravenous administration or inhalational delivery of bilirubin nanomedicine (BNM) to combat systemic dysfunctions associated with COVID-19, owing to the remarkable preclinical efficacy and optimistic results of various clinical studies of bilirubin in non-communicable disorders. BNM may be used to harness the proven preclinical pharmacological efficacy of bilirubin against COVID-19 related systemic complications. � 2021 Elsevier Ltd
Journal
Medical Hypotheses
Access Type
Open Access