Open Access, Volume 3 Review Artcle www.jjgastro.com Received: Oct 18, 2023 Accepted: Nov 22, 2023 Published: Nov 29, 2023 Archived: www.jjgastro.com Copyright: © Salami M (2023). *Corresponding Author: Maryam Salami Functonal Food Research Core, College of Agricul- ture and Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran. Email: msalami@ut.ac.ir The role of natural bioactve compounds and functonal foods for fghtng coronavirus infectons in humans with special focus on covid-19: A systematc review Abstract Coronaviruses are a group of enveloped viruses with the RNA ge- nome. Several strains infectous to humans have been identfed in this group. Some of the coronaviruses, like SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV, are highly pathogenic and have caused fatal pneumonia, while some of them have caused mild diseases. Increasingly it seems that the im- mune system is a suitable approach in fghtng against coronavirus infecton. Enhancing the quality of nutriton can be considered an ef- fectve method in the preventon and treatment of diseases caused by coronaviruses. Bioactve compounds and functonal foods that have ant-infammatory and antoxidant propertes can boost the immune system, with some having ant-coronaviruses propertes. Of note, the host’s hyperactve immune response results in an excessive infamma- tory response. COVID-19 as well as MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV can lead to cytokine storm, which is a hyperinfammatory conditon due to the overproducton of proinfammatory cytokines by an unregulated im- mune system. The results of several studies of cytokine profles of CO- VID-19 patents showed that cytokine storm is directly related to lung injury and mult-organ failure in severe COVID-19, hence, ant-infam- matory bioactve compounds might be helpful. This artcle reviews the possible mechanisms of coronaviruses’ efects on the body as well as the efects of plant-derived bioactve compounds and functonal foods from three perspectves: reducing oxidatve stress, decreasing infammaton, and inhibitng viral proteins. Abbreviatons: ABTS: 2,2′-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sul- fonic acid); ABTS+: 2,2′-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) radical; ACE2: Angiotensin-convertng enzyme two; AhR: Aryl hydrocarbon receptor; ARE: Antoxidant response element; 3CLpro: 3-chymotrypsin-like protease; COX: Cyclooxygenase; DPPH: 2,2′-di- Mona Miran 1 ; Mohammad Amin Aliyari 1 ; Maryam Salami 1,2 *; Fatemeh Ghamari 3 ; Zahra Emam-Djomeh 1,2 ; Salwa Karboune 4 ; Harpal S Butar 5 * 1 Transfer Phenomena Laboratory (TPL), Department of Food Science and Engineering, College of Agriculture and Natural Resourc- es, University of Tehran, Karaj campus, Iran. 2 Functonal Food Research Core, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran. 3 Department of Science Payame Noor University, P.O box 19395-4697 Tehran, Iran. 4 Department of Food Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Macdonald Campus, Mc Gill University 21111 lakeshore, Sainte Anne de Bellevue, Quebec, H9X 3V9, Canada. 5 Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Otawa, Faculty of Medicine, Otawa, Ontario, Canada.