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PHARMASPIRE - Volume 12, Issue 4, October- December, 2020

Pages: 134-138

Date of Publication: 10-Jun-2022


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An overview on chloroquine and its role in COVID-19

Author: Divya Dhawal Bhandari, Tejinder Kaur

Category: Pharmaceutics

Abstract:

Objective: The current COVID-19 pandemic acting as a great challenge in front of all of us and there is a need to deal with this by searching any suitable treatment thereof. Current situation demands research into new drugs or repurposing of existing drugs. Materials and Methods: Chloroquine, an antimalarial drug, has been found effective as repurposing in the treatment of various disorders such as cancer, skin infections, and neurological disorders. Chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) also bind directly to nucleic acids at molecular level thus blocking TLR9 signaling at the intracellular level by inhibiting TLR–ligand interactions. It is important to further determine the mode of action of HCQ and chloroquine, along with safe and efficacious use at prescribed dose. Results: Chloroquine and its derivative HCQ has been found effective in treating Coronavirus-19 (COVID-19) by inhibiting replication of SARS-CoV-2 in vitro.A group of Chinese researchers found that chloroquine is effective at EC90 of 6.9 µM using Vero E6 cells infected by SARS-CoV-2 at MOI 0.05. Conclusion:The chloroquine or HCQ is considered as the need of present situation to fight with COVID-19. More research is required in this field to find out the exact mechanism of chloroquine action in treatment of COVID-19 and to rule out its dose and dose regimen. Thus, chloroquine can be considered as effective drug for the treatment of novel coronavirus but lot more work is required in this direction.

Keywords: ACE receptors, chloroquine, COVID-19, hydroxychloroquine, virus

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