Natural products against acute respiratory infections

Acute respiratory infections (ARIs), such as influenza, COVID-19 and pneumonia are the most frequently occurring infectious diseases and the third most common cause of death globally. The lack of effective remedies, drug resistances and imminent threats of pandemics highlight the need for the development of drugs that can cure these diseases. The focus of this project is on three ARI-related pathogens (viruses and bacteria), namely the influenza A virus, SARS-CoV-2, and pneumococci. In a previous project, we collected herbal remedies, which have been used in different cultures to cure symptoms which are typically caused by these pathogens, such as cough, fever, severe problems in the airways and lungs. In this current project, we are now looking into the chemical details of extracts used in traditional medicine and add further ones obtained from fungi and microbes. Millions of data points obtained from these multicomponent mixtures will be collected through high-end analytical and chemoinformatic techniques. This big data will be correlated with the extracts activities against these viruses and bacteria. Results from this analysis shall help to break down complexity and provide crucial information on novel anti-ARI compounds by tracking down the components responsible for the activity in the complex mixtures. This way, we will be able to identify and isolate novel natural compounds, which will serve as promising starting points for the development of innovative and multifunctional drugs to fight these dangerous pathogens.

Acute respiratory infections (ARI) such as flu, COVID-19 and pneumonia are the most common infectious diseases worldwide and the third leading cause of death. The lack of effective cures, drug resistance and the imminent threat of pandemics highlight the need to develop drugs that can treat these diseases. The focus of this project was on three ARI-relevant pathogens (viruses and bacteria), namely the influenza A virus, SARS-CoV-2 virus and pneumococci. A preliminary project collected herbal remedies and mushrooms that were used in various cultures to cure symptoms typically caused by these pathogens, such as cough, fever, severe respiratory diseases. In this project, we investigated the chemical composition of extracts that we were able to obtain from these traditionally used remedies and other under-researched natural sources. Millions of data points from these multicomponent mixtures were collected using analytical, biochemometric and cheminformatics techniques. The large amounts of data obtained were correlated with the activities of the extracts and subjected to analysis. These high-throughput methods not only made it possible to deal with the complexity of the extracts, but also to specifically identify the antiviral and antibacterial constituents. By using state-of-the-art analytical and chromatographic methods, numerous novel anti-ARI compounds were isolated and characterized from natural materials. The results of this project resulted not only in 14 high-quality publications, a patent application, new international academic and industry collaborations, dozens of contributions at international conferences and media placements, but above all in the education and training of numerous early career researchers (master students, doctoral students and PostDocs).