A team of scientists from the Manipal Academy of Higher Education(MAHE) and the Indian Regional Center for Biotechnology has discovered that vitamin B12 can block the multiplication of COVID-19 in the body.
The findings are based on a study where scientists conducted computer simulations to identify which molecules between natural products and drugs can inhibit the nsp12 found in the SARS-CoV-2 genome that is responsible for the multiplication of the virus in the body.
According to the study published in the journal IUBMB Life, it would be a special form of release of vitamin B12, which in the human body takes the form of methylcobalamin, which inhibits the replication of COVID-19 viral cells.
Scientists believe that a number of additional in vitro and in vivo studies are still needed to have more strong results, but at the moment suggest that this vitamin can be considered by doctors to implement doses in patients who need it.
“The number of patients suffering from COVID-19 is increasing daily and approximately 7% of them are in serious condition (…) given the urgency of the situation and the fact that methylcobalamin is already part of drug formulations, doctors may consider adding or increasing the dose of methylcobalamin in their current patient care protocols,” write the study authors.