key: cord-0861681-diezb6rw
authors: Dorsch, W.; Ring, J.
title: Anti-inflammatory substances from onions could be an option for treatment of COVID-19—a hypothesis
date: 2020-10-20
journal: Allergo J Int
DOI: 10.1007/s40629-020-00146-2
sha: 53f2a8cc01b7b00bdddbdaaed0bea3115bfa258e
doc_id: 861681
cord_uid: diezb6rw

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amine release from human granulocytes and human adenoidal mast cells, leukotriene biosynthesis of human granulocytes (Leukotriene B4 and Leukotriene C4 (LTB4 and LTC4), binding of PAF to human platelets in high concentration, thromboxane biosynthesis of human platelet-rich plasma, lipoxygenase activity of swine leukocytes, cyclooxygenase activity of sheep seminal vesicles, activation of human granulocytes by PAF, chemotaxis of human granulocytes and human lung fibroblasts. Synthetic diphenylthiosulfinate (Boehringer-Mannheim, Germany) hinder in addition proteinase release from human leukocytes, zymosan-induced chemiluminescence of human leukocytes and antigen-related constriction of guinea pig lung parenchymal strips.

In vivo suppression of allergen induced bronchial reactions in guinea pigs, PAF-induced, but not histamine-or acetylcholine-induced bronchial obstruction and bronchial hyperreactivity in guinea pigs has been observed as well as of PAF-induced lethality in mice, multiple bronchospasms in rats and guinea pigs after active and passive immunization and hypersensitization by sephadex and other agents.

In humans, local treatment with onion juice can significantly reduce allergic skin inflammation reactions (similar to bee sting reactions) and treat allergic asthma: Fig. 1 shows the inhibitory effect of a 5% alcohol extract from 200 g onions on bronchial obstruction caused by inhalation of house dust mites.

Onions have been used in traditional medicine for thousands of years worldwide. Most of the active substances are not present in intact onions, they will be synthesized de novo in case of injury as defense against predators. The production method is crucial to obtain pharmaceutically active extracts, e.g. heat destroys them. Their pharmaceutic activity corresponds with their instability. But onions remain an important home medicine, they are available world- wide, even in poor countries, they are cheap and could play a role in self-medication in the early stages of COVID-19. In 1999 the WHO assessed the use of the onion as harmless on the whole.

Facing the dramatic development of the pandemic, we report on our scientific efforts at a very early stage hoping for intensive cooperation with other scientists in order to test optimal preparation methods, possible side effects, antiviral and antithrombotic activities in detail. We are currently starting with the following preparation technic even for clinical trials: Peeling 200 g raw yellow onions room temperature, cutting into small cubes, mixing with 80 g dextrose, squeezing, adding alcohol (final 10%), sieving after 2 hours and drinking the daily dose of 100 ml in small portions. Side-effects such as increased bowel activity, flatulence and typical respiratory odour appear tolerable.

Funding Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL.

Conflict of interest W. Dorsch and J. Ring declare that they have no competing interests.

Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

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