MEDIA RELEASE: 14 January 2021 – R0006

A Brock University chemist and a St. Catharines-based pharmaceutical company have joined forces to produce a natural remedy aimed at preventing and treating COVID-19.

Professor of Chemistry Travis Dudding is researching how a flavonoid called quercetin can be used in medicines produced by Biolyse Pharma Corporation.

Flavinoids are naturally occurring chemicals found in most fruits, vegetables, tea and wine. Quercetin has been associated with several health benefits, including the reduction of risk for heart disease, cancer and degenerative brain disorders, among others.

“What we’re hoping to do with this research is to be able to modify the quercetin to increase its water solubility and bioavailability so that it can be used part of a protocol to treat COVID-19,” says Dudding.

Research in several countries has shown encouraging results for the use of quercetin in the fight against COVID-19 transmission and infection.

Quercetin is believed to be able to block a certain protein from attaching to an enzyme that invades cells with coronavirus.

John Fulton, Quercetin Project Partner at Biolyse, says he and fellow company officials have been monitoring these studies and were excited about the possibility of producing medicine containing quercetin.

He says he is also excited about a partnership with a local expert.

“I’ve always been of the philosophy that you’ve got to grow your own people,” says Fulton. “By being able to have this relationship with Brock, we’re investing in the future, in future employees, really.”

The research is being funded with a $50,000 Alliance COVID-19 grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.

For more, see this story in The Brock News.

For more information or for assistance arranging interviews: 

* Dan Dakin, Manager Communications and Media Relations, Brock University ddakin@brocku.ca or 905-347-1970

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