Kobra Bahrampour Juybari,1 Mohammad Hossein Pourhanifeh,Azam Hosseinzadeh, Karim Hemati, and Saeed Mehrzadi

Abstract

Viral infections are dangerous diseases for human health worldwide, which lead to significant morbidity and mortality each year. Because of their importance and the lack of effective therapeutic approaches, further attempts should be made to discover appropriate alternative or complementary treatments. Melatonin, a multifunctional neurohormone mainly synthesized and secreted by the pineal gland, plays some roles in the treatment of viral infections. Regarding a deadly outbreak of COVID-19 across the world, we decided to discuss melatonin functions against various viral infections including COVID-19. Therefore, in this review, we summarize current evidence on melatonin therapy for viral infections with focus on possible underlying mechanisms of melatonin actions.

Keywords: Melatonin, Viral infections, Covid-19, Respiratory syncytial virus, Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus, Viral hepatitis, Viral myocarditis, Apoptosis, Inflammation, Oxidative stress, Stem cell, Coronavirus