Ethnobotanical Study of Medicinal Plants Used against COVID-19

Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Moroccan population, like the entire population of the world, used medicinal plants to treat or cure symptoms of SARS-CoV-2. The present work was designed to identify the medicinal plants used by the Moroccan population in the prevention or treatment of COVID-19. To achieve this goal, a survey was conducted to collect data on plants along with the sociodemographic parameters of users. The outcome of this work showed that 1,263 people were interviewed with 63.5% male, aged between 18 and 82 years. Most plant users were between 20 and 40 years, which constituted 80.1% of the study population. The level of education of participants was 70.9% university and 27.6% secondary. The most useful plants were eucalyptus, cloves, lemon, and garlic. Notably, 61.9% of interviewed people used plants for preventing or treating COVID-19: 30.6% of them declared one-time use from the beginning of the pandemic, and 47.8% declared frequent daily use until recovery, while 17.4% declared single daily use. Five out of twenty-one plants used in the treatment are known for their potential toxicity, including Artemisia herba-alba and oleander ( Nerium oleander ). The findings of the present work could serve society by providing potential medicinal plants to control COVID-19.

Use of medicinal plants during COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil

“…Among these, 30.6% reported single use since the pandemic’s beginning, 47.8% reported frequent daily use until recovery and 17.4% reported permanent daily single use. Eucalyptus , Syzygium aromaticum , Citrus limon , and A. sativum L. are the most used plants 15 .…”

Ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plants used by people cured of SARS-CoV-2 in the center of Algeria

“…Like all diseases that affect humans and pose a threat to their lives, COVID-19 disease prompted scientists to develop treatments and vaccines to eradicate this disease (Mascellino et al 2021, Pascual-Iglesias et al 2021. While ordinary people resorted to their experiences gained in the field of medicinal herbs to prevent or treat this disease (Chaachouay et al 2021, Chebaibi et al 2022.…”

Eco-extraction process of essential oil of the vegetal species Eucalyptus Camaldulensis Dehnh.: parametric modeling and optimization by Box-Behnken plan

“…In fact during COVID-19 pandemic period, research worldwide precipitated the investigations on drugs suspicious to combat the virus amongst which Eucalyptus species and this incited us to deepen the research through the optimization of essential oil extraction methods. [8][9][10][11] Therefore, the current paper attempts to optimize the parametric hydrodistillation of essential oils from Algerian Eucalyptus camaldulensis leaves using the RSM, specifically the effects of extraction parameters (particle size, condensation flow rate, and extraction time) and their interactions on the extracted oil yield. The oil's composition was determined using gas chromatography in conjunction with mass spectrometry.…”