A number of plant-based foods, including the “popular” oranges, berries, beans or cabbage, have antiviral properties and may be helpful for Covid-19 patients. These are the preliminary conclusions of a study conducted by English researchers, helped by millions of smartphone users around the world.
Smartphone users from around the world helped Imperial College London complete the first stage of the Corona-AI research project in just six months. The process was significantly faster than would have been possible using standard research methods. The Corona-AI project, launched by the Vodafone Foundation in April as part of the DreamLab mobile application in several countries, including Romania, aims to identify combinations of existing drugs and molecules from various common foods that could help patients with COVID-19.
Researchers at Imperial College London announced preliminary findings from the research, including the identification of molecules with antiviral properties in common plant-based foods, such as berries (especially blackcurrants, cranberries and blueberries), apples, oranges, lemons, cabbage, broccoli, onions, garlic, parsley and beans. The study also found that common drugs used to combat cardiovascular and metabolic disorders – such as simvastatin, atorvastatin and metformin – could also be used against COVID-19. The findings will be further analyzed by the researchers, who say that clinical validation is needed to assess the potential impact of these molecules, according to a statement sent by the Vodafone Romania Foundation.
Dr. Kirill Veselkov from the Department of Surgery and Oncology at Imperial College London, coordinator of the Corona-AI project, said: “While there is rightly a lot of focus on finding a vaccine for COVID-19, our concern is to find ways in which we can help people who have contracted the virus, reducing either the duration or severity of the disease. For patients who do not require hospitalization, there is a need for innovative and cost-effective treatment that can be administered outside the hospital. We expect that nutritional strategies based on phytonutrient-rich foods will provide a new solution in this regard.”
In the first phase, the Corona-AI project helped scientists explore the potential effect of thousands of molecules in drugs and foods. With the help of the DreamLab application and artificial intelligence, 100 million mathematical calculations were solved. After the completion of all phases of research – estimated deadline for December 2021 – the results obtained will be made available to the medical community to facilitate clinical trials. The findings from the food research could be integrated into dietary advice for patients recovering from COVID-19.
DreamLab is an award-winning app developed by the Vodafone Foundation that offers any smartphone owner an easy way to support cancer research. Since April 2020, the app has included Corona-AI, a project that uses the same technology to help fight the spread of the coronavirus.
The mobile app uses the collective processing power of smartphones to perform complex calculations at a much faster pace than traditionally possible. To date, DreamLab has been downloaded by nearly 1 million users in 17 countries who have chosen to support scientific research. The app is currently available in Romania, Australia, Italy, New Zealand, Spain, the United Kingdom, Portugal, the Czech Republic, Ghana, South Africa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lesotho, Germany, Ireland, Greece, the Netherlands and Albania.
