Chinese herbal injections for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): A narrative review

Abstract

Background The outbreak of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused more than 180 million infections and 3.9 million deaths. To date, emerging clinical evidence has shown the synergetic benefits of Chinese herbal injections in treating this contagious respiratory disease. This review aims to summarize and analyze the efficacy and safety of Chinese herbal injections in the therapy of COVID-19. Methods The literature from 3 electronic databases, PubMed, CNKI, and Web of Science, were searched using the search terms “COVID-19”, “SARS-CoV-2”, “traditional Chinese medicine”, “herb”, “herbal”, and “injection”. Then the identified articles were comprehensively evaluated. Results Limited data demonstrated that Chinese herbal injections could significantly improve the clinical outcomes of COVID-19 patients, especially in combination with conventional treatment strategies. The benefits of which were mainly associated with the relief of symptoms, prevention of secondary infection, regulation of inflammation and immune function. There was also evidence showing the inhibitory effects on SARS-CoV-2 replication in vitro. Nevertheless, available real-world data suggested the increased risk of adverse event. Furthermore, the defects of existing researches and the insights for discovering novel antiviral drugs were prospectively discussed. Conclusion Evidence-based advances revealed that Chinese herbal injections such as XueBiJing injection and ShenMai injection, exerted potent effects against COVID-19. Further laboratory researches and clinical evaluation are needed to gather scientific evidence on the efficacy and safety.

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“…TCMIs, composed of active substances from traditional Chinese medicines, have been widely used in clinical practice. − With the increased application of TCMIs, the reported adverse drug reactions (ADRs), including acute allergic reactions, have been non-negligible in medication. Yet, the mechanism of how most TCMIs work or react with the human body remains unclear due to the complex components from natural materials including plants, animal products, and minerals. − Among all the possible factors that cause ADRs, macromolecular components including protein remnants from plants and animals, especially that from plants, could be dangerous if injected into the human body. The prescribed method to examine protein in The Pharmacopeia of the People’s Republic of China at present is based on the precipitation reaction with sulfosalicylic acid or tannic acid.…”

Regulation of Innate and Adaptive Immunity using Herbal Medicine: Benefits for the COVID-19 Vaccination

“…Recently, the availability of Shenmai injections for COVID-19 has been evaluated by molecular docking and network pharmacology. Data showed that 22 compounds and 16 targets were predicted in the Shenmai injection that was shared with COVID-19 [ 50 ] .…”

Treatment strategies and pharmacist‐led medication management for Helicobacter pylori infection

“…TCM is commonly used in China to treat a variety of diseases (R. J. Li, Dai, et al, 2021; T. Liu et al, 2021; Xiang et al, 2021; M. Zhang et al, 2022; Zhu et al, 2021). It mainly treats diseases according to the theory of balance between Yin and Yang, while H. pylori infection belongs to the category of “damp‐heat pathogenic Qi ” or “toxin comes from pathogenic bacteria” (R. J. Li, Dai, et al, 2021).…”