Effectiveness of supplementation with quercetin-type flavonols for treatment of viral lower respiratory tract infections: Systematic review and meta-analysis of preclinical studies

Abstract

Viral infections of the lower respiratory tract are considered a public health problem. They affect millions of people worldwide, causing thousands of deaths, and are treated with expensive medicines, such as antivirals or palliative measures. In this study, we conducted a systematic review to describe the use of quercetin-type flavonols against lower respiratory tract viruses and discussed the preclinical impact of this approach on different signs and clinical mechanisms of infection. The systematic review was performed in PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, Scielo, and Biblioteca Virtual de Saúde (BVS). After the database search, 11 relevant studies were identified as eligible. The analysis of these studies showed evidence of antiviral activity of quercetin-type flavonols with significantly reduced mortality rate (M-H = 0.19, 95% CI: 0.05 to 0.65, p-value = 0.008) of infected animals and a reduction in the average viral load (IV = −1.93, 95% CI: −3.54 to −0.31, p-value = 0.02). Additionally, quercetin and its derivatives reduced the amount of proinflammatory cytokines, chemokines, reactive oxygen species, mucus production, and airway resistance in animals infected with a respiratory virus. Overall, supplementation with quercetin-type flavonols is a promising strategy for treating viral-induced lower respiratory tract infections.