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The pathophysiological process of the disease, Covid-19, is mediated by innate immunity, with the presence of macrophages responsible for secreting type 1 and 6 interleukins (IL), tumor necrosis factor (TNF) leading to dilation of endothelial cells with a consequent increase in capillary permeability. The treatment of this disease has been much discussed, but the variability in the clinical picture, the difficulties for diagnosis and treatment, especially of those patients who have the most severe clinical condition of the disease. Immunization is an effective tool for controlling the spread and overload of health services, but its effectiveness involves high investments in the acquisition of inputs, development of vaccines, and logistics of storage and distribution. These factors can be obstacles for countries with lower economic, technological, and infrastructure indexes. Reflecting on these difficulties, we raised the possibility of adjuvant therapies with imminent research feasibility, as is the case with the use of carvacrol, a monoterpenic phenol whose has biological properties that serve as a barrier to processes mediated by free radicals, such as irritation and inflammation, due to its antioxidant action. Many authors highlighted the activity of carvacrol as a potent suppressor of COX-2 expression minimizing the acute inflammatory process, decreasing the release of some pro-inflammatory mediators such as IL-1β, TNF-α, PGE2. Anyway, the benefits of carvacrol are numerous and the therapeutic possibilities too. With this description, the question arises: would carvacrol be a supporting treatment option, effective in minimizing the deleterious effects of Covid-19? There is still a lot to discover and research., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Carvacrol is a monoterpene present in the essential oil of a number of plants and has been widely used in traditional medicine because it is considered to have a range of therapeutic effects including in relation to respiratory disease. To conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities of carvacrol when used in the treatment of respiratory disorders. A comprehensive literature search using Scopus, MEDLINE-PubMed, Cochrane and Web of Science was undertaken. Papers related to the anti-inflammatory or antioxidant properties of carvacrol in the treatment of an injury in the respiratory system in in vivo studies and published in the period up to and including August 2019. A total of 152 studies were initially identified, with only 17 meeting the inclusion criteria. Five of the studies were performed in humans, and 12 were performed in rodents. Among the 17 studies included in the systematic review, we performed the meta-analysis with nine of the studies with animals. Carvacrol had a positive effect on the reduction of interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-4, IL-8 and malondialdehyde (MDA); however, the analysis indicated that carvacrol had no effect on IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), probably due to the methodological quality of the studies and their heterogeneity. Current evidence supports the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of carvacrol, but its relationship with the reduction of some inflammatory mediators in animals with lung injury needs further elucidation., (© 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)

Carvacrol has a high therapeutic potential, with in vitro studies showing promising results in different cellular models using a variety of methodological designs. Therefore, the objective of this study was to conduct a systematic review to analyze the pharmacological effects of carvacrol in in vitro studies. A comprehensive search of the literature was made using four databases: Science Direct, Scopus, MEDLINE-PubMed, and Web of Science using different combinations of the following keywords: carvacrol, drug therapy, therapeutic uses, in vitro study. The search of the databases was for studies conducted in the period up to and including September 2016. A total of 3,269 studies were initially identified, with only 31 meeting the inclusion criteria. The included studies contained a variety of in vitro models able to determine the properties of Carvacrol. The following properties of Carvacrol were identified: antimicrobial (7 studies), bactericidal (4), bactericidal and antifungal (1), antiinflammatory (4), anticancer (4), mutagenic (4), antioxidant (3), antifungal (3), antidepressant (1), as a modulator of nerve impulses (1) and an immunological modulator (1). The In vitro studies with Carvacrol included in this review showed a diversity of models and confirmed the therapeutic potential of this product in relation to several diseases., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.)