David Y.W.Lee a Qing Y.Li a b JingLiu a ThomasEfferth c
a.Bio-Organic and Natural Products Research Laboratory, McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School, 115 Mill Street, Belmont, MA 02478
b.Henan University of Chinese Medicine, Zhengzhou, China 450046
c.Department of Pharmaceutical Biology, Institute of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany 55128
Received 21 June 2020, Revised 2 September 2020, Accepted 4 September 2020, Available online 28 September 2020.
Throughout the 5000-year history of China, more than 300 epidemics were recorded. Traditional Chinese herbal medicine (TCM) has been used effectively to combat each of these epidemics’ infections, and saved many lives. To date, there are hundreds of herbal TCM formulae developed for the purpose of prevention and treatment during epidemic infections. When COVID-19 ravaged the Wuhan district in China in early January 2020, without a deep understanding about the nature of COVID-19, patients admitted to the TCM Hospital in Wuhan were immediately treated with TCM and reported later with >90% efficacy.
We conducted conduct a systematic survey of various TCM herbal preparations used in Wuhan and to review their efficacy, according to the published clinical data; and, secondly, to find the most popular herbs used in these preparations and look into the opportunity of future research in the isolation and identification of bioactive natural products for fighting COVID-19.
Although bioactive natural products in these herbal preparations may have direct antiviral activities, TCM employed for fighting epidemic infections was primarily based on the TCM theory of restoring the balance of the human immune system, thereby defeating the viral infection indirectly. In addition, certain TCM teachings relevant to the meridian system deserve better attention. For instance, many TCM herbal preparations target the lung meridian, which connects the lung and large intestine. This interconnection between the lung, including the upper respiratory system, and the intestine, may explain why certain TCM formulae showed excellent relief of lung congestion and diarrhea, two characteristics of COVID-19 infection.
There is good reason for us to learn from ancient wisdom and accumulated clinical experience, in combination with cutting edge science and technologies, to fight with the devastating COVID-19 pandemic now and emerging new coronaviruses in the future.
Medicinal herb
Phytotherapy
SARS-CoV-2
Viral infection
ACE2
angiotensin-converting enzyme II
AIV
avian influenza virus
ALI
acute lung injuries
AVP
arginine vasopressin
c-AMP
cyclic adenosine phosphate
CASP3
caspase 3
CCL2
CC chemokine ligand 2
CDC
Center for Disease Control and Prevention
CoV
coronavirus
COVID-19
coronavirus disease 2019
COX-2
cyclooxygenase-2
CXCL
C-X-C- motif chemokine
ECMO
extracorporeal membrane oxygenation
FM1
FM1 coronavirus
GCGJ
Gancao ganjiang decoction
HIV
human immunodeficiency virus
HSV-1
herpes simplex virus 1
ICU
intensive care unit
IEC-6
rat intestinal epithelial cell line 6
IL
Interleukin
iNOS
nitric oxide synthase
JEV
Japanese encephalitis virus
LH
Lianhuaqingwen capsule
LPS
lipopolysaccharides
MAPK
mitogen-activated protein kinase
MDA
malondialdehyde
MDCK
Madin-Darby Canine Kidney cells
MXSG
Ma xing shi gandecoction
NF-κB
nuclear factor kappa B cells
NO
nitric oxide
PA
patchouli alcohol
PGE2
prostaglandin E2
PTGS2
Prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2
QFPD
Qingfeipaidu decoction
RSV
respiratory syncytial virus
SARS
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
SMD
Sheganmahuang decoction
SOD
superoxide dismutase
TCM
traditional Chinese medicine
TLR-4
Toll-like receptor-4
TNF
tumor necrosis factor
WHO
World Health Organization