Gamma oryzanol can prevent cytokine storm in Covid patients: Experts

New Delhi, March 14 : Using gamma oryzanol — a powerful antioxidant — in supplement form on Covid-19 patients with obesity can significantly prevent cytokine storm in them and thereby safeguard them from negative clinical outcomes, health experts said on Sunday.
The findings suggest that rice bran supplement containing natural compounds as gamma oryzanol can be considered a coadjutant therapy to prevent the cytokine storm in Covid-19 patients with obesity conditions.
“Gamma-oryzanol has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties and due to which it has the potential to be helpful in preventing negative clinical outcomes in such patients who have inflammatory tendencies,” Neha Gupta, Infectious Diseases specialist, Medanta – The Medicity told IANS.
Cytokine storm is an umbrella term encompassing several disorders of immune dysregulation and multiorgan dysfunction that can lead to multiorgan failure if inadequately treated.
The main reason for a higher prevalence of negative clinical outcomes due to Covid-19 in obese individuals is due to the cytokine storm, result from the cytokine production from both obesity and viral infection.
“Its consumption is helpful in reducing inflammation in body and if by chance that person catches Covid-19, complications in such person who is already using anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compound i.e. gamma oryzanol will be very less severe and the chance of cytokine storm will be prevented by the body’s own immune system,” said S P Byotra, Chairman of Department of Medicine, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi.