ReviewMaturitas2021
Immune-boosting role of vitamins D, C, E, zinc, selenium and omega-3 fatty acids: Could they help against COVID-19?
Review in Maturitas, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 183 papers, 8 of them syntheses 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
183 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 457 citations in OpenAlex.
- Efficacy and Safety of a Combination of Enteral and Parenteral Nutrition Support in the Postoperative Period for Patients with Gastrointestinal Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Balkan medical journal · 2025Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Role of Metals on SARS-CoV-2 Infection: a Review of Recent Epidemiological Studies.Current environmental health reports · 2023Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Vitamin C Supplementation for the Treatment of COVID-19: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Nutrients · 2022Pooled it
- COVID-19 and Selenium Deficiency: a Systematic Review.Biological trace element research · 2022Pooled it
- COVID-19-Associated acute respiratory distress syndrome (CARDS): Mechanistic insights on therapeutic intervention and emerging trends.International immunopharmacology · 2021Pooled it
- Nutritional determinants and COVID-19 outcomes of older patients with COVID-19: A systematic review.Archives of gerontology and geriatricsPooled it
- Trial
- Melatonin, vitamins and minerals supplements for the treatment of Covid-19 and Covid-like illness: A prospective, randomized, double-blind multicenter study.Explore (New York, N.Y.)Trial
- Gut microbial allies and adversaries in SARS-CoV-2 infection.Current research in microbial sciences · 2026Article
- Cardiovascular Disease as a Risk Amplifier of COVID-19 Severity and a Potential Correlations to Long-Term Gastrointestinal Sequelae.Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities · 2026Article
- Immunomodulatory and Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Phycocyanin Oligopeptide Combined with Selenium and Zinc in LPS-Induced Mice.Biomedicines · 2026Article
- Trace Elements and Viral Infectious Diseases: Dual Roles in Pathogenesis and Immunity.Infectious disease reports · 2026Review
- Combining Culinary Medicine With Integrative Medicine in Medical Curriculum: A Novel Community-Centric Approach.American journal of lifestyle medicine · 2026Review
- Traditional South African medicinal plants and their role in improving goat reproduction: a review.Frontiers in veterinary science · 2026Review
- Sustained Shifts in Dietary Supplement Use Years After COVID-19: A Post-Pandemic Evaluation of Behaviors, Perceptions, and Predictors of Change in Jordan.Risk management and healthcare policy · 2026Article
- Epigallocatechin-3-gallate ameliorates lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammation via the 67LR/JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Functional Food Ingredients Enhancing Immune Health.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Systematic Review of the Impact of COVID-19 on Healthcare Systems and Society-The Role of Diagnostics and Nutrition in Pandemic Response.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Review
123 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
8 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The world is currently in the grips of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which has mutated to allow human-to-human spread. Infection can cause fever, dry cough, fatigue, severe pneumonia, respiratory distress syndrome and in some instances death. COVID-19 affects the immune system by producing a systemic inflammatory response, or cytokine release syndrome. Patients with COVID-19 have shown a high level of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines. There are currently no effective anti-SARS-CoV-2 viral drugs or vaccines. COVID-19 disproportionately affects the elderly, both directly, and through a number of significant age-related comorbidities. Undoubtedly, nutrition is a key determinant of maintaining good health. Key dietary components such as vitamins C, D, E, zinc, selenium and the omega 3 fatty acids have well-established immunomodulatory effects, with benefits in infectious disease. Some of these nutrients have also been shown to have a potential role in the management of COVID-19. In this paper, evidence surrounding the role of these dietary components in immunity as well as their specific effect in COVID-19 patients are discussed. In addition, how supplementation of these nutrients may be used as therapeutic modalities potentially to decrease the morbidity and mortality rates of patients with COVID-19 is discussed.
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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.