Research i_need_contribute
Traditional Chinese herbal medicine at the forefront battle against COVID-19
source:Elsevier 2020-12-30 [Research]
Clinical experience and scientific basis

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.

 

 

Abstract

Background

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.

Approach

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.

Results

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.

Conclusion

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.

 

Keywords

Medicinal herb

Phytotherapy

SARS-CoV-2

Viral infection

Abbreviations

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