Immunity-Boosting Natural Herbs to Combat COVID-19 Pandemic: A Narrative Review

Abstract

Coronaviruses cause some severe forms of respiratory infections such as Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), and Coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). These viruses cause diarrhea in pigs and cows and upper respiratory disease in chickens, while other symptoms may differ. In humans, a total of six coronaviruses have been identified HCoVs-NL63, HCoVs-OC43, HCoVs-229E, HCoVs-HKU1, MERS-CoV, and SARS-CoV. The world health organization (WHO) has done a great deal of hard work regarding combating the monstrous effects of this virus. So far, no specific antiviral drugs have been developed for the treatment of Covid-19. Therefore, the medicinal plants used for the previous epidemic outbreaks are getting attention for their potential treatment against the virus. It has been reported that 70 to 80% of people in developing countries depend on medicinal plants or phytomedicine compared to allopathic drugs for their primary healthcare. The south Asian subcontinents have used almost up to 25,000 formulations and extracts obtained from medicinal plants for treatment in folk medicine. The present review discusses an overview of the coronavirus, its immune responses, and some immunity-boosting herbs to combat Covid-19.

Herbal Medicine and COVID-19: An Umbrella Review

“…The ten narrative reviews 10,[12][13][14]16,19,20,25,32,33 that examined herbs used in traditional Chinese, 10,12,13,14,16,19,32 Tibetan, 33 and Thai 10 medicine, and Ayurveda 12,20,25 highlighted the antiviral, 10,13,14,16,20,25,32,33 antiinflammatory, 10,13,32,33 immunomodulatory, 12,13,14,16,20,33 and hepa topro tective 16 properties of a broad variety of herbs and formulations.…”

“…The narrative reviews examining other medicinal herbs 14,15,26,28,34 also highlighted anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antiviral, immune enhancing, immunosuppressive, central nervous system modulating, and immune modulating actions of medicinal herbs. The proposed mechanism of action of medicinal herbs in the treatment of COVID-19 was suggested as being due to the secondary metabolites present in these plants, including sterols, diterpenes, alkaloids, glycosides, and aliphatics.…”

“…The proposed mechanism of action of medicinal herbs in the treatment of COVID-19 was suggested as being due to the secondary metabolites present in these plants, including sterols, diterpenes, alkaloids, glycosides, and aliphatics. 14,34 One systematic review 75 considered the role of glycyrrhizic acid preparation (GAP) in the treatment of COVID-19 alone and COVID-19 with comorbid liver injury, particularly in relation to its efficacy and safety. 75 The study reported that GAP contributed to a reduction in liver enzymes and CRP while improving liver function, inhibiting inflammation, and strengthening immunity.…”