Exploring nutritional supplement use for countering respiratory tract infections through an X (formerly Twitter)-based survey

Rajeev K. Singla; Himel Mondal; Shailja Singla; Ronita De; Sahar Behzad; Mihnea Alexandru Găman; Siva Sai Chandragiri; Merisa Cenanovic; Jayanta Kumar Patra; Jennifer R. Depew; Hemanth Kumar Boyina; Abdulkadir Yusif Maigoro; Soojin Lee; Omar M. Atrooz; Gitishree Das; Fabien Schultz; Emad Mohamed Abdallah; Hitesh Chopra; Jamil Ahmad; Rupesh K. Gautam; Sourav S. Patnaik; Bey Hing Goh; Smith B. Babiaka; Sharad Vats; Michael P. Okoh; Atallah F. Ahmed; Ankit Kumar Dubey; Ronan Lordan; Parasuraman Aiya Subramani; Amit Kumar Singh; José M. Alvarez-Suarez; Dinesh Kumar Chellappan; Shravan Kumar Paswan; Prabhakar Semwal; Johra Khan; Sadeeq Sheshe; Neeraj Kumar Sethiya; Tomasz M. Karpiński; Muhammad Riaz; Zahra Emam-Djomeh; Girish Kumar Gupta; Reecha Madaan; Suresh Kumar; Neeraj Choudhary; Salvatore Parisi; Harald Willschke; Vasil Pirgozliev; Rehab A. Rayan; Valentin Ritschl; Shaikat Mondal; Gokhan Zengin; Pritt Verma; Bhupinder Kapoor; Monica Gulati; Gareeballah Osman Adam Balla; Dan Khoa Le; Valeria Pittalà; Amr El-Demerdash; Garba M. Khalid; Jesus Simal-Gandara; Qushmua E. Alzahrani; Gian Luigi Russo; Kiran R. Kharat; Anupam Bishayee; Dongdong Wang; Ilkay Erdogan Orhan; Hammad Ullah; Michael Heinrich; Bikash Baral; Nikolay T. Tzvetkov; Andy Wai Kan Yeung; João M.L. Dias-Ferreira; Scarlett Perez Olea; Yugal Kishore Mohanta; Azazahemad A. Kureshi; Claudiu T. Supuran; Neeraj Rani; Rohit Gundamaraju; Eoghan Joseph Mulholland; Sara Di Lonardo; Albena T. Dinkova-Kostova; Elena González-Burgos; Lucian Hritcu; Pravin Badhe; Abhilasha Singh; Fuad Al-Rimawi; Antoni Sureda; Rambod Abiri; Nady Braidy; Lorenz Kapral; A. N. Abdullahi; Christhian Delfino Villanueva Medina; Helen Sheridan; Massimo Lucarini; Alessandra Durazzo; Francesca Giampieri; Davide Barreca; Witkowska Anna Maria; José Carlos Andrade; Carmela Fimognari; Faizan Akram; Aleksei Tikhonov; Maurizio Battino; Akolade R. Oladipupo; Mila Emerald; Thomas Efferth; Said Amrani; Javier Echeverría; Anna Maria Louka; Surya Kant Tripathi; Bernd L. Fiebich; Nour Eddine Es-Safi; Shafaat Yar Khan; Vivek P. Chavda; Muhammad Asim Masoom Zubair; Samrina Hussain; Muhammad Fasih Ur Rahman; Joy Odimegwu; Jaroslaw Olav Horbanczuk; Hari Prasad Devkota; Alejandro Cifuentes; Rupinder Sodhi; Antonello Santini; Ourlad Alzeus G. Tantengco; Sandeep Ramchandra Pai; Ananda Kumar Chettupalli; Sebastian Granica; Nikola M. Stojanović; Devesh Tewari; Vineet Mittal; Vandana Garg; Mohammad Akhlaquer Rahman; Rajan Logesh; Ioana Berindan-Neagoe; Rohit Sharma; Artur Jóźwik; Maima Matin; Emil D. Parvanov; Nina Strzałkowska; Farhan Bin Matin; Olena Litvinova; Jivko Stoyanov; Monika Michalczuk; Bogumila Zima-Kulisiewicz; Okyaz Eminaga; Awanish Mishra; Nishat Jahan; Joanna Bensz; Tanuj Joshi; Aman Upaganlawar; Kiran Patni; Aleksandra Zielińska; Dalibor Hrg; Artur Stolarczyk; Olga Adamska; George Perry; Michał Ławiński; Agnieszka Kamińska; Mario Štefanović; Bodrun Naher Siddiquea; Sara Frazzini; Luciana Rossi; Marek Wieczorek; Michel Edwar Mickael; Leif Alexander Garbe; Atanas G. Atanasov; Bairong Shen

doi:10.1016/j.crbiot.2025.100282

Exploring nutritional supplement use for countering respiratory tract infections through an X (formerly Twitter)-based survey

Rajeev K. Singla, Himel Mondal, Shailja Singla, Ronita De, Sahar Behzad, Mihnea Alexandru Găman, Siva Sai Chandragiri, Merisa Cenanovic, Jayanta Kumar Patra, Jennifer R. Depew, Hemanth Kumar Boyina, Abdulkadir Yusif Maigoro, Soojin Lee, Omar M. Atrooz, Gitishree Das, Fabien Schultz, Emad Mohamed Abdallah, Hitesh Chopra, Jamil Ahmad, Rupesh K. GautamSourav S. Patnaik, Bey Hing Goh, Smith B. Babiaka, Sharad Vats, Michael P. Okoh, Atallah F. Ahmed, Ankit Kumar Dubey, Ronan Lordan, Parasuraman Aiya Subramani, Amit Kumar Singh, José M. Alvarez-Suarez, Dinesh Kumar Chellappan, Shravan Kumar Paswan, Prabhakar Semwal, Johra Khan, Sadeeq Sheshe, Neeraj Kumar Sethiya, Tomasz M. Karpiński, Muhammad Riaz, Zahra Emam-Djomeh, Girish Kumar Gupta, Reecha Madaan, Suresh Kumar, Neeraj Choudhary, Salvatore Parisi, Harald Willschke, Vasil Pirgozliev, Rehab A. Rayan, Valentin Ritschl, Shaikat Mondal, Gokhan Zengin, Pritt Verma, Bhupinder Kapoor, Monica Gulati, Gareeballah Osman Adam Balla, Dan Khoa Le, Valeria Pittalà, Amr El-Demerdash, Garba M. Khalid, Jesus Simal-Gandara, Qushmua E. Alzahrani, Gian Luigi Russo, Kiran R. Kharat, Anupam Bishayee, Dongdong Wang, Ilkay Erdogan Orhan, Hammad Ullah, Michael Heinrich, Bikash Baral, Nikolay T. Tzvetkov, Andy Wai Kan Yeung, João M.L. Dias-Ferreira, Scarlett Perez Olea, Yugal Kishore Mohanta, Azazahemad A. Kureshi, Claudiu T. Supuran, Neeraj Rani, Rohit Gundamaraju, Eoghan Joseph Mulholland, Sara Di Lonardo, Albena T. Dinkova-Kostova, Elena González-Burgos, Lucian Hritcu, Pravin Badhe, Abhilasha Singh, Fuad Al-Rimawi, Antoni Sureda, Rambod Abiri, Nady Braidy, Lorenz Kapral, A. N. Abdullahi, Christhian Delfino Villanueva Medina, Helen Sheridan, Massimo Lucarini, Alessandra Durazzo, Francesca Giampieri, Davide Barreca, Witkowska Anna Maria, José Carlos Andrade, Carmela Fimognari, Faizan Akram, Aleksei Tikhonov, Maurizio Battino, Akolade R. Oladipupo, Mila Emerald, Thomas Efferth, Said Amrani, Javier Echeverría, Anna Maria Louka, Surya Kant Tripathi, Bernd L. Fiebich, Nour Eddine Es-Safi, Shafaat Yar Khan, Vivek P. Chavda, Muhammad Asim Masoom Zubair, Samrina Hussain, Muhammad Fasih Ur Rahman, Joy Odimegwu, Jaroslaw Olav Horbanczuk, Hari Prasad Devkota, Alejandro Cifuentes, Rupinder Sodhi, Antonello Santini, Ourlad Alzeus G. Tantengco, Sandeep Ramchandra Pai, Ananda Kumar Chettupalli, Sebastian Granica, Nikola M. Stojanović, Devesh Tewari, Vineet Mittal, Vandana Garg, Mohammad Akhlaquer Rahman, Rajan Logesh, Ioana Berindan-Neagoe, Rohit Sharma, Artur Jóźwik, Maima Matin, Emil D. Parvanov, Nina Strzałkowska, Farhan Bin Matin, Olena Litvinova, Jivko Stoyanov, Monika Michalczuk, Bogumila Zima-Kulisiewicz, Okyaz Eminaga, Awanish Mishra, Nishat Jahan, Joanna Bensz, Tanuj Joshi, Aman Upaganlawar, Kiran Patni, Aleksandra Zielińska, Dalibor Hrg, Artur Stolarczyk, Olga Adamska, George Perry, Michał Ławiński, Agnieszka Kamińska, Mario Štefanović, Bodrun Naher Siddiquea, Sara Frazzini, Luciana Rossi, Marek Wieczorek, Michel Edwar Mickael, Leif Alexander Garbe, Atanas G. Atanasov^*, Bairong Shen^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review

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Abstract

Background: Respiratory tract infections are a common health issue, driving interest in preventive strategies like nutritional supplements, while evidence on their usage and effectiveness remains limited. In this context, social media platforms, particularly X (formerly Twitter), provide a unique opportunity to gather large-scale public health-related data. Objectives: In this study, we aimed to survey participants’ uses and opinions on nutritional supplements in prevention or treatment of respiratory tract infections, by using X. Methods: A survey was conducted between 1st and 15th December 2022. A single open-ended question “Which are the best dietary supplements to counteract respiratory infections?“ was asked. One week after the start of the survey, a poll was posted to get more relevant information and boost the survey's reach. Total endorsements were calculated for each tweet posted as the total sum of replies, retweets, and likes. Results: The open-ended question received a total of 118 retweets, 39 quotes, and 371 likes, while the poll received 56 retweets, 13 quotes, and 67 likes. A total of 495 replies, 2,251 retweets, 5,118 likes, and 148 quotes were received for the question and its related tweets. Vitamin D (1,607 endorsements), zinc (1,347 endorsements), vitamin C (803 endorsements), magnesium (694 endorsements), and honey (661 endorsements) were the nutritional supplements that received most endorsements. Conclusion: Various foods, drinks, and natural ingredients have been suggested as potentially helpful for counteracting respiratory infections. Approximately half of respondents indicated using such supplements for themselves. The result of this study supports the idea that the X platform can be used as an effective survey tool to study global health-related behaviours and trends.

Original language	English
Article number	100282
Journal	Current Research in Biotechnology
Volume	9
Number of pages	14
ISSN	2590-2628
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crbiot.2025.100282
Publication status	Published - 2025

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 The Authors

Keywords

Bacteria
COVID-19
Nutritional supplements
Phytomedicine
Respiratory tract infections
X (formerly Twitter)

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FulltextFinal published version, 5.03 MBLicence: CC BY-NC-ND

Cite this

Singla, R. K., Mondal, H., Singla, S., De, R., Behzad, S., Găman, M. A., Sai Chandragiri, S., Cenanovic, M., Patra, J. K., Depew, J. R., Boyina, H. K., Maigoro, A. Y., Lee, S., Atrooz, O. M., Das, G., Schultz, F., Abdallah, E. M., Chopra, H., Ahmad, J., ... Shen, B. (2025). Exploring nutritional supplement use for countering respiratory tract infections through an X (formerly Twitter)-based survey. Current Research in Biotechnology, 9, Article 100282. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crbiot.2025.100282

Singla, RK, Mondal, H, Singla, S, De, R, Behzad, S, Găman, MA, Sai Chandragiri, S, Cenanovic, M, Patra, JK, Depew, JR, Boyina, HK, Maigoro, AY, Lee, S, Atrooz, OM, Das, G, Schultz, F, Abdallah, EM, Chopra, H, Ahmad, J, Gautam, RK, Patnaik, SS, Goh, BH, Babiaka, SB, Vats, S, Okoh, MP, Ahmed, AF, Dubey, AK, Lordan, R, Subramani, PA, Singh, AK, Alvarez-Suarez, JM, Chellappan, DK, Paswan, SK, Semwal, P, Khan, J, Sheshe, S, Sethiya, NK, Karpiński, TM, Riaz, M, Emam-Djomeh, Z, Gupta, GK, Madaan, R, Kumar, S, Choudhary, N, Parisi, S, Willschke, H, Pirgozliev, V, Rayan, RA, Ritschl, V, Mondal, S, Zengin, G, Verma, P, Kapoor, B, Gulati, M, Balla, GOA, Le, DK, Pittalà, V, El-Demerdash, A, Khalid, GM, Simal-Gandara, J, Alzahrani, QE, Russo, GL, Kharat, KR, Bishayee, A, Wang, D, Orhan, IE, Ullah, H, Heinrich, M, Baral, B, Tzvetkov, NT, Yeung, AWK, Dias-Ferreira, JML, Olea, SP, Mohanta, YK, Kureshi, AA, Supuran, CT, Rani, N, Gundamaraju, R, Mulholland, EJ, Lonardo, SD, Dinkova-Kostova, AT, González-Burgos, E, Hritcu, L, Badhe, P, Singh, A, Al-Rimawi, F, Sureda, A, Abiri, R, Braidy, N, Kapral, L, Abdullahi, AN, Medina, CDV, Sheridan, H, Lucarini, M, Durazzo, A, Giampieri, F, Barreca, D, Maria, WA, Andrade, JC, Fimognari, C, Akram, F, Tikhonov, A, Battino, M, Oladipupo, AR, Emerald, M, Efferth, T, Amrani, S, Echeverría, J, Maria Louka, A, Tripathi, SK, Fiebich, BL, Es-Safi, NE, Khan, SY, Chavda, VP, Zubair, MAM, Hussain, S, Rahman, MFU, Odimegwu, J, Horbanczuk, JO, Devkota, HP, Cifuentes, A, Sodhi, R, Santini, A, Tantengco, OAG, Pai, SR, Chettupalli, AK, Granica, S, Stojanović, NM, Tewari, D, Mittal, V, Garg, V, Rahman, MA, Logesh, R, Berindan-Neagoe, I, Sharma, R, Jóźwik, A, Matin, M, Parvanov, ED, Strzałkowska, N, Matin, FB, Litvinova, O, Stoyanov, J, Michalczuk, M, Zima-Kulisiewicz, B, Eminaga, O, Mishra, A, Jahan, N, Bensz, J, Joshi, T, Upaganlawar, A, Patni, K, Zielińska, A, Hrg, D, Stolarczyk, A, Adamska, O, Perry, G, Ławiński, M, Kamińska, A, Štefanović, M, Siddiquea, BN, Frazzini, S, Rossi, L, Wieczorek, M, Mickael, ME, Garbe, LA, Atanasov, AG & Shen, B 2025, 'Exploring nutritional supplement use for countering respiratory tract infections through an X (formerly Twitter)-based survey', Current Research in Biotechnology, vol. 9, 100282. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crbiot.2025.100282

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title = "Exploring nutritional supplement use for countering respiratory tract infections through an X (formerly Twitter)-based survey",

abstract = "Background: Respiratory tract infections are a common health issue, driving interest in preventive strategies like nutritional supplements, while evidence on their usage and effectiveness remains limited. In this context, social media platforms, particularly X (formerly Twitter), provide a unique opportunity to gather large-scale public health-related data. Objectives: In this study, we aimed to survey participants{\textquoteright} uses and opinions on nutritional supplements in prevention or treatment of respiratory tract infections, by using X. Methods: A survey was conducted between 1st and 15th December 2022. A single open-ended question “Which are the best dietary supplements to counteract respiratory infections?“ was asked. One week after the start of the survey, a poll was posted to get more relevant information and boost the survey's reach. Total endorsements were calculated for each tweet posted as the total sum of replies, retweets, and likes. Results: The open-ended question received a total of 118 retweets, 39 quotes, and 371 likes, while the poll received 56 retweets, 13 quotes, and 67 likes. A total of 495 replies, 2,251 retweets, 5,118 likes, and 148 quotes were received for the question and its related tweets. Vitamin D (1,607 endorsements), zinc (1,347 endorsements), vitamin C (803 endorsements), magnesium (694 endorsements), and honey (661 endorsements) were the nutritional supplements that received most endorsements. Conclusion: Various foods, drinks, and natural ingredients have been suggested as potentially helpful for counteracting respiratory infections. Approximately half of respondents indicated using such supplements for themselves. The result of this study supports the idea that the X platform can be used as an effective survey tool to study global health-related behaviours and trends.",

keywords = "Bacteria, COVID-19, Nutritional supplements, Phytomedicine, Respiratory tract infections, X (formerly Twitter)",

author = "Singla, {Rajeev K.} and Himel Mondal and Shailja Singla and Ronita De and Sahar Behzad and G{\u a}man, {Mihnea Alexandru} and {Sai Chandragiri}, Siva and Merisa Cenanovic and Patra, {Jayanta Kumar} and Depew, {Jennifer R.} and Boyina, {Hemanth Kumar} and Maigoro, {Abdulkadir Yusif} and Soojin Lee and Atrooz, {Omar M.} and Gitishree Das and Fabien Schultz and Abdallah, {Emad Mohamed} and Hitesh Chopra and Jamil Ahmad and Gautam, {Rupesh K.} and Patnaik, {Sourav S.} and Goh, {Bey Hing} and Babiaka, {Smith B.} and Sharad Vats and Okoh, {Michael P.} and Ahmed, {Atallah F.} and Dubey, {Ankit Kumar} and Ronan Lordan and Subramani, {Parasuraman Aiya} and Singh, {Amit Kumar} and Alvarez-Suarez, {Jos{\'e} M.} and Chellappan, {Dinesh Kumar} and Paswan, {Shravan Kumar} and Prabhakar Semwal and Johra Khan and Sadeeq Sheshe and Sethiya, {Neeraj Kumar} and Karpi{\'n}ski, {Tomasz M.} and Muhammad Riaz and Zahra Emam-Djomeh and Gupta, {Girish Kumar} and Reecha Madaan and Suresh Kumar and Neeraj Choudhary and Salvatore Parisi and Harald Willschke and Vasil Pirgozliev and Rayan, {Rehab A.} and Valentin Ritschl and Shaikat Mondal and Gokhan Zengin and Pritt Verma and Bhupinder Kapoor and Monica Gulati and Balla, {Gareeballah Osman Adam} and Le, {Dan Khoa} and Valeria Pittal{\`a} and Amr El-Demerdash and Khalid, {Garba M.} and Jesus Simal-Gandara and Alzahrani, {Qushmua E.} and Russo, {Gian Luigi} and Kharat, {Kiran R.} and Anupam Bishayee and Dongdong Wang and Orhan, {Ilkay Erdogan} and Hammad Ullah and Michael Heinrich and Bikash Baral and Tzvetkov, {Nikolay T.} and Yeung, {Andy Wai Kan} and Dias-Ferreira, {Jo{\~a}o M.L.} and Olea, {Scarlett Perez} and Mohanta, {Yugal Kishore} and Kureshi, {Azazahemad A.} and Supuran, {Claudiu T.} and Neeraj Rani and Rohit Gundamaraju and Mulholland, {Eoghan Joseph} and Lonardo, {Sara Di} and Dinkova-Kostova, {Albena T.} and Elena Gonz{\'a}lez-Burgos and Lucian Hritcu and Pravin Badhe and Abhilasha Singh and Fuad Al-Rimawi and Antoni Sureda and Rambod Abiri and Nady Braidy and Lorenz Kapral and Abdullahi, {A. N.} and Medina, {Christhian Delfino Villanueva} and Helen Sheridan and Massimo Lucarini and Alessandra Durazzo and Francesca Giampieri and Davide Barreca and Maria, {Witkowska Anna} and Andrade, {Jos{\'e} Carlos} and Carmela Fimognari and Faizan Akram and Aleksei Tikhonov and Maurizio Battino and Oladipupo, {Akolade R.} and Mila Emerald and Thomas Efferth and Said Amrani and Javier Echeverr{\'i}a and {Maria Louka}, Anna and Tripathi, {Surya Kant} and Fiebich, {Bernd L.} and Es-Safi, {Nour Eddine} and Khan, {Shafaat Yar} and Chavda, {Vivek P.} and Zubair, {Muhammad Asim Masoom} and Samrina Hussain and Rahman, {Muhammad Fasih Ur} and Joy Odimegwu and Horbanczuk, {Jaroslaw Olav} and Devkota, {Hari Prasad} and Alejandro Cifuentes and Rupinder Sodhi and Antonello Santini and Tantengco, {Ourlad Alzeus G.} and Pai, {Sandeep Ramchandra} and Chettupalli, {Ananda Kumar} and Sebastian Granica and Stojanovi{\'c}, {Nikola M.} and Devesh Tewari and Vineet Mittal and Vandana Garg and Rahman, {Mohammad Akhlaquer} and Rajan Logesh and Ioana Berindan-Neagoe and Rohit Sharma and Artur J{\'o}{\'z}wik and Maima Matin and Parvanov, {Emil D.} and Nina Strza{\l}kowska and Matin, {Farhan Bin} and Olena Litvinova and Jivko Stoyanov and Monika Michalczuk and Bogumila Zima-Kulisiewicz and Okyaz Eminaga and Awanish Mishra and Nishat Jahan and Joanna Bensz and Tanuj Joshi and Aman Upaganlawar and Kiran Patni and Aleksandra Zieli{\'n}ska and Dalibor Hrg and Artur Stolarczyk and Olga Adamska and George Perry and Micha{\l} {\L}awi{\'n}ski and Agnieszka Kami{\'n}ska and Mario {\v S}tefanovi{\'c} and Siddiquea, {Bodrun Naher} and Sara Frazzini and Luciana Rossi and Marek Wieczorek and Mickael, {Michel Edwar} and Garbe, {Leif Alexander} and Atanasov, {Atanas G.} and Bairong Shen",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2025 The Authors",

year = "2025",

doi = "10.1016/j.crbiot.2025.100282",

language = "English",

volume = "9",

journal = "Current Research in Biotechnology",

issn = "2590-2628",

publisher = "Elsevier",

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TY - JOUR

T1 - Exploring nutritional supplement use for countering respiratory tract infections through an X (formerly Twitter)-based survey

AU - Singla, Rajeev K.

AU - Mondal, Himel

AU - Singla, Shailja

AU - De, Ronita

AU - Behzad, Sahar

AU - Găman, Mihnea Alexandru

AU - Sai Chandragiri, Siva

AU - Cenanovic, Merisa

AU - Patra, Jayanta Kumar

AU - Depew, Jennifer R.

AU - Boyina, Hemanth Kumar

AU - Maigoro, Abdulkadir Yusif

AU - Lee, Soojin

AU - Atrooz, Omar M.

AU - Das, Gitishree

AU - Schultz, Fabien

AU - Abdallah, Emad Mohamed

AU - Chopra, Hitesh

AU - Ahmad, Jamil

AU - Gautam, Rupesh K.

AU - Patnaik, Sourav S.

AU - Goh, Bey Hing

AU - Babiaka, Smith B.

AU - Vats, Sharad

AU - Okoh, Michael P.

AU - Ahmed, Atallah F.

AU - Dubey, Ankit Kumar

AU - Lordan, Ronan

AU - Subramani, Parasuraman Aiya

AU - Singh, Amit Kumar

AU - Alvarez-Suarez, José M.

AU - Chellappan, Dinesh Kumar

AU - Paswan, Shravan Kumar

AU - Semwal, Prabhakar

AU - Khan, Johra

AU - Sheshe, Sadeeq

AU - Sethiya, Neeraj Kumar

AU - Karpiński, Tomasz M.

AU - Riaz, Muhammad

AU - Emam-Djomeh, Zahra

AU - Gupta, Girish Kumar

AU - Madaan, Reecha

AU - Kumar, Suresh

AU - Choudhary, Neeraj

AU - Parisi, Salvatore

AU - Willschke, Harald

AU - Pirgozliev, Vasil

AU - Rayan, Rehab A.

AU - Ritschl, Valentin

AU - Mondal, Shaikat

AU - Zengin, Gokhan

AU - Verma, Pritt

AU - Kapoor, Bhupinder

AU - Gulati, Monica

AU - Balla, Gareeballah Osman Adam

AU - Le, Dan Khoa

AU - Pittalà, Valeria

AU - El-Demerdash, Amr

AU - Khalid, Garba M.

AU - Simal-Gandara, Jesus

AU - Alzahrani, Qushmua E.

AU - Russo, Gian Luigi

AU - Kharat, Kiran R.

AU - Bishayee, Anupam

AU - Wang, Dongdong

AU - Orhan, Ilkay Erdogan

AU - Ullah, Hammad

AU - Heinrich, Michael

AU - Baral, Bikash

AU - Tzvetkov, Nikolay T.

AU - Yeung, Andy Wai Kan

AU - Dias-Ferreira, João M.L.

AU - Olea, Scarlett Perez

AU - Mohanta, Yugal Kishore

AU - Kureshi, Azazahemad A.

AU - Supuran, Claudiu T.

AU - Rani, Neeraj

AU - Gundamaraju, Rohit

AU - Mulholland, Eoghan Joseph

AU - Lonardo, Sara Di

AU - Dinkova-Kostova, Albena T.

AU - González-Burgos, Elena

AU - Hritcu, Lucian

AU - Badhe, Pravin

AU - Singh, Abhilasha

AU - Al-Rimawi, Fuad

AU - Sureda, Antoni

AU - Abiri, Rambod

AU - Braidy, Nady

AU - Kapral, Lorenz

AU - Abdullahi, A. N.

AU - Medina, Christhian Delfino Villanueva

AU - Sheridan, Helen

AU - Lucarini, Massimo

AU - Durazzo, Alessandra

AU - Giampieri, Francesca

AU - Barreca, Davide

AU - Maria, Witkowska Anna

AU - Andrade, José Carlos

AU - Fimognari, Carmela

AU - Akram, Faizan

AU - Tikhonov, Aleksei

AU - Battino, Maurizio

AU - Oladipupo, Akolade R.

AU - Emerald, Mila

AU - Efferth, Thomas

AU - Amrani, Said

AU - Echeverría, Javier

AU - Maria Louka, Anna

AU - Tripathi, Surya Kant

AU - Fiebich, Bernd L.

AU - Es-Safi, Nour Eddine

AU - Khan, Shafaat Yar

AU - Chavda, Vivek P.

AU - Zubair, Muhammad Asim Masoom

AU - Hussain, Samrina

AU - Rahman, Muhammad Fasih Ur

AU - Odimegwu, Joy

AU - Horbanczuk, Jaroslaw Olav

AU - Devkota, Hari Prasad

AU - Cifuentes, Alejandro

AU - Sodhi, Rupinder

AU - Santini, Antonello

AU - Tantengco, Ourlad Alzeus G.

AU - Pai, Sandeep Ramchandra

AU - Chettupalli, Ananda Kumar

AU - Granica, Sebastian

AU - Stojanović, Nikola M.

AU - Tewari, Devesh

AU - Mittal, Vineet

AU - Garg, Vandana

AU - Rahman, Mohammad Akhlaquer

AU - Logesh, Rajan

AU - Berindan-Neagoe, Ioana

AU - Sharma, Rohit

AU - Jóźwik, Artur

AU - Matin, Maima

AU - Parvanov, Emil D.

AU - Strzałkowska, Nina

AU - Matin, Farhan Bin

AU - Litvinova, Olena

AU - Stoyanov, Jivko

AU - Michalczuk, Monika

AU - Zima-Kulisiewicz, Bogumila

AU - Eminaga, Okyaz

AU - Mishra, Awanish

AU - Jahan, Nishat

AU - Bensz, Joanna

AU - Joshi, Tanuj

AU - Upaganlawar, Aman

AU - Patni, Kiran

AU - Zielińska, Aleksandra

AU - Hrg, Dalibor

AU - Stolarczyk, Artur

AU - Adamska, Olga

AU - Perry, George

AU - Ławiński, Michał

AU - Kamińska, Agnieszka

AU - Štefanović, Mario

AU - Siddiquea, Bodrun Naher

AU - Frazzini, Sara

AU - Rossi, Luciana

AU - Wieczorek, Marek

AU - Mickael, Michel Edwar

AU - Garbe, Leif Alexander

AU - Atanasov, Atanas G.

AU - Shen, Bairong

PY - 2025

Y1 - 2025

N2 - Background: Respiratory tract infections are a common health issue, driving interest in preventive strategies like nutritional supplements, while evidence on their usage and effectiveness remains limited. In this context, social media platforms, particularly X (formerly Twitter), provide a unique opportunity to gather large-scale public health-related data. Objectives: In this study, we aimed to survey participants’ uses and opinions on nutritional supplements in prevention or treatment of respiratory tract infections, by using X. Methods: A survey was conducted between 1st and 15th December 2022. A single open-ended question “Which are the best dietary supplements to counteract respiratory infections?“ was asked. One week after the start of the survey, a poll was posted to get more relevant information and boost the survey's reach. Total endorsements were calculated for each tweet posted as the total sum of replies, retweets, and likes. Results: The open-ended question received a total of 118 retweets, 39 quotes, and 371 likes, while the poll received 56 retweets, 13 quotes, and 67 likes. A total of 495 replies, 2,251 retweets, 5,118 likes, and 148 quotes were received for the question and its related tweets. Vitamin D (1,607 endorsements), zinc (1,347 endorsements), vitamin C (803 endorsements), magnesium (694 endorsements), and honey (661 endorsements) were the nutritional supplements that received most endorsements. Conclusion: Various foods, drinks, and natural ingredients have been suggested as potentially helpful for counteracting respiratory infections. Approximately half of respondents indicated using such supplements for themselves. The result of this study supports the idea that the X platform can be used as an effective survey tool to study global health-related behaviours and trends.

AB - Background: Respiratory tract infections are a common health issue, driving interest in preventive strategies like nutritional supplements, while evidence on their usage and effectiveness remains limited. In this context, social media platforms, particularly X (formerly Twitter), provide a unique opportunity to gather large-scale public health-related data. Objectives: In this study, we aimed to survey participants’ uses and opinions on nutritional supplements in prevention or treatment of respiratory tract infections, by using X. Methods: A survey was conducted between 1st and 15th December 2022. A single open-ended question “Which are the best dietary supplements to counteract respiratory infections?“ was asked. One week after the start of the survey, a poll was posted to get more relevant information and boost the survey's reach. Total endorsements were calculated for each tweet posted as the total sum of replies, retweets, and likes. Results: The open-ended question received a total of 118 retweets, 39 quotes, and 371 likes, while the poll received 56 retweets, 13 quotes, and 67 likes. A total of 495 replies, 2,251 retweets, 5,118 likes, and 148 quotes were received for the question and its related tweets. Vitamin D (1,607 endorsements), zinc (1,347 endorsements), vitamin C (803 endorsements), magnesium (694 endorsements), and honey (661 endorsements) were the nutritional supplements that received most endorsements. Conclusion: Various foods, drinks, and natural ingredients have been suggested as potentially helpful for counteracting respiratory infections. Approximately half of respondents indicated using such supplements for themselves. The result of this study supports the idea that the X platform can be used as an effective survey tool to study global health-related behaviours and trends.

KW - Bacteria

KW - COVID-19

KW - Nutritional supplements

KW - Phytomedicine

KW - Respiratory tract infections

KW - X (formerly Twitter)

U2 - 10.1016/j.crbiot.2025.100282

DO - 10.1016/j.crbiot.2025.100282

M3 - Journal article

AN - SCOPUS:105004746618

SN - 2590-2628

VL - 9

JO - Current Research in Biotechnology

JF - Current Research in Biotechnology

M1 - 100282

ER -