Selenium, a micronutrient can modulate viral diseases including COVID-19

Abstract

Selenium, a micronutrient is reported to play a very important role in fighting bacterial and viral infections. Selenium exerts its effects through incorporation into selenoproteins that are crucial for providing antioxidant defense and maintaining redox homeostasis. The deficiency of selenium in the diet leads to impaired immune response and increased pathogenesis of viral diseases. On the other hand, supplementation with selenium has been shown to be very effective in reducing infections and mortality against many pathogenic RNA viruses. This has encouraged researchers across the world to examine the role of selenium (if any) in the susceptibility and/or severity of the recent outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Some of the emerging findings along with the future scope of research on using selenium for management of viral infections including COVID-19 are discussed.