Abstract: Antiviral effects of ivermectin Afr. J. Clin. Exper. Microbiol. 2021; 22 (3): 322-329 Adegboro et al. Afr. J. Clin. Exper. Microbiol. 2021; 22 (3): 322 - 329 https://www.afrjcem.org African Journal of Clinical and Experimental Microbiology. ISSN 1595-689X AJCEM/2090. https://www.ajol.info/index.php/ajcem Jul 2021; Vol.22 No.3 Copyright AJCEM 2021: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/ajcem.v22i3.2 Review Article Open Access A review of the anti-viral effects of ivermectin Adegboro, B., 2Lawani, O. A., 3Oriaifo, S. E., and 4Abayomi, S. A. *1 Departments of 1Medical Microbiology & Immunology, and 3Clinical Pharmacology, Nile University, Abuja, Nigeria 2 Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Ilorin, Nigeria 4 Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, LAUTECH Teaching Hospital, Ogbomoso, Nigeria *Correspondence to: boazadegboro@gmail.com Abstract: Ivermectin is an avermectin which is a group of pentacyclic sixteen-membered lactone (macrocyclic lactone disaccharide) derived from the soil bacterium Streptomyces avermitilis. It is a semi-synthetic broad-spectrum antihelminthic, anti-viral and anti-cancer agent. It has a wide safety margin with low adverse effects when it is used orally. It has, however, so far only been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a broad spectrum anti-parasitic agent. Because ivermectin also has broad activities as an anti-viral agent, we herein review its pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic activities, as well as the in vitro and in vivo studies conducted on the drug. It is hoped that this work will pave way for ivermectin being seriously considered as an addition to the drugs available for the management of patients with COVID-19. Keywords: ivermectin; pharmacokinetics; pharmacodynamics; broad-spectrum anti-viral; COVID-19 Received Oct 31, 2020; Revised Apr 20, 2021; Accepted Apr 21, 2021 Copyright 2021 AJCEM Open Access. This article is licensed and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attrition 4.0 International License <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided credit is given to the original author(s) and the source. Editor-in-Chief: Prof. S. S. Taiwo Un examen des effets antiviraux de l'ivermectine *1Adegboro, B., 2Lawani, O. A., 3Oriaifo, S. E., et 4Abayomi, S. A. Départements de 1Microbiologie médicale et d'immunologie, et 3Clinique de pharmacologie, Université du Nil, Abuja, Nigéria 2 Département de microbiologie médicale et de parasitologie, Hôpital universitaire d'Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigéria 4 Département de microbiologie médicale et de parasitologie, Hôpital universitaire de LAUTECH, Ogbomoso, Nigéria *Correspondance à: boazadegboro@gmail.com Abstrait: L'ivermectine est une avermectine qui est un groupe de lactone pentacyclique à seize membres (lactone disaccharide macrocyclique) dérivée de la bactérie du sol Streptomyces avermitilis. C'est un anthelminthique semisynthétique à large spectre, antiviral et anticancéreux. Il a une large marge de sécurité avec de faibles effets indésirables lorsqu'il est utilisé par voie orale. Cependant, jusqu'à présent, il n'a été approuvé que par la Administration des aliments et des médicaments (FDA) en tant qu'agent antiparasitaire à large spectre. Étant donné que l'ivermectine a également de vastes activités en tant qu'agent antiviral, nous passons ici en revue..