ReviewPharmacological reports : PR2020
Cepharanthine: a review of the antiviral potential of a Japanese-approved alopecia drug in COVID-19.
Review in Pharmacological reports : PR, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 68 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
68 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 120 citations in OpenAlex.
- Therapeutic Effects of Alkaloids on Influenza: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Preclinical Studies.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Pooled it
- Safety and efficacy of oral administrated cepharanthine in non-hospitalized, asymptomatic or mild COVID-19 patients: a Double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial : Author detials.Scientific reports · 2025Trial
- Cepharanthine inhibits tick‑borne encephalitis virus infection through modulation of the stress and inflammation response.International journal of molecular medicine · 2026Article
- Direct visualization of RNA virus and evaluation of drug effect in living cells by catalytically transformable DNA cube.Science advances · 2026Article
- Anticancer Effects of Cepharanthine: an Updated Minireview.Journal of Cancer · 2026Review
- Cepharanthine inhibits enterovirus entry by endolysosomal deacidification and exhibits protective activityAntimicrobial agents and chemotherapy · 2025Article
- Cepharanthine Induces Oxidative Stress and Apoptosis in Cervical Cancer via the Nrf2/Keap1 Pathway.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Anticoronavirus Isoquinoline Alkaloids: Unraveling the Secrets of Their Structure-Activity Relationship.Influenza and other respiratory viruses · 2025Article
- Identification and Characterization of Two Se6OMTs fromMetabolites · 2025Article
- Protective Role of Cepharanthine Against Equid Herpesvirus Type 8 Through AMPK and Nrf2/HO-1 Pathway Activation.Viruses · 2024Article
- Cepharanthine attenuates pulmonary fibrosis via modulating macrophage M2 polarization.BMC pulmonary medicine · 2024Article
- Review
- Article
- An Overview of SARS-CoV-2 Potential Targets, Inhibitors, and Computational Insights to Enrich the Promising Treatment Strategies.Current microbiology · 2024Review
- The Bis(1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline) Alkaloids Cepharanthine and Berbamine Are Ligands of SK Channels.ACS medicinal chemistry letters · 2024Article
- Genome assembly ofFrontiers in plant science · 2024Article
- Computational Drug Design Strategies for Fighting the COVID-19 Pandemic.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2024Article
- Cepharanthine, a regulator of keap1-Nrf2, inhibits gastric cancer growth through oxidative stress and energy metabolism pathway.Cell death discovery · 2023Article
- A Reappraisal of the Antiviral Properties of and Immune Regulation through Dietary Phytochemicals.ACS pharmacology & translational science · 2023Review
- Pharmacological Activity of Cepharanthine.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
8 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Cepharanthine (CEP) is a naturally occurring alkaloid derived from Stephania cepharantha Hayata and demonstrated to have unique anti-inflammatory, antioxidative, immunomodulating, antiparasitic, and antiviral properties. Its therapeutic potential as an antiviral agent has never been more important than in combating COVID-19 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus. Cepharanthine suppresses nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) activation, lipid peroxidation, nitric oxide (NO) production, cytokine production, and expression of cyclooxygenase; all of which are crucial to viral replication and inflammatory response. Against SARS-CoV-2 and homologous viruses, CEP predominantly inhibits viral entry and replication at low doses; and was recently identified as the most potent coronavirus inhibitor among 2406 clinically approved drug repurposing candidates in a preclinical model. This review critically analyzes and consolidates available evidence establishing CEP's potential therapeutic importance as a drug of choice in managing COVID-19 cases.
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Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.