Which East Asian herbal medicines can decrease viral infections?

Abstract

Whilst Western research for the COVID-19 crisis focuses on vaccination, in East Asia traditional herbal prescriptions are studied for SARS-CoV2 therapy. In Japan, Maoto (Ephedrae herba 4 g, Armeniacae semen 4 g, Cinnamomi cortex 3 g, and Glycyrrhizae radix 2 g, JPXVII) is used based on clinical evidence for its effect on early phase influenza (also caused by RNA viruses) comparable to that of oseltamivir. The Health Ministry of Thailand has approved Andrographis paniculata (Jap. Senshinren) extracts for treatment of COVID-19. Its combination (4 g) with Maoto, Maoto-ka-senshinren, seems most promising for the treatment of viral pandemics. In China, the official guideline for COVID-19 treatment contains TCM medications with antiviral, as well as immunmodulatory and anti-inflammatory effects such as: Qing-Fei-Pai-Du-Tang (Jap. Seihai-haidokuto) contains 21 drugs; Shufeng Jiedu Jiaonang (Bupleuri radix 8 g, Forsythiae fructus 8 g, Glycyrrhizae radix 4 g, Isatidis radix 8 g, Patriniae herba 8 g, Phragmitis rhizoma 6 g, Polygoni cuspidati rhizoma 10 g, Verbenae herba 8 g); Fufang Yuxingcao Heiji (Forsythiae fructus 0.6 g, Houttuyniae herba 6 g, Isatidis radix 1.5 g, Lonicerae flos 0.6 g, Scutellariae radix 1.5 g) first gained prominence during the 2002 SARS epidemic. With no Western medicine available, the following overview discusses efficacy and mechanisms in view of viral entry and replication of different East Asian herbal remedies for COVID-19 treatment.

History and main research of psychoneuroimmunology in China

“…Here we focus on pharmacological interventions to depression. The concept of immunity was not explicitly developed in TCM, although TCM was the first to use immunization for the control of epidemics( Kuchta et al, 2021 ). It has been shown that most herbs used in TCM have some immunomodulatory effects ( Li, 2000 ; Wu et al, 2015 ; Zhang et al, 2016 ; Zhang et al, 2020c ; Zhang and Xiao, 2021 ).…”

Integrative medicine using East Asian herbal medicine for inflammatory pain in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis integrated with multiple data mining for core candidate discovery

“…In East Asian countries, such as China, Korea, Taiwan, and Japan, more than 500 common EAHM natural products are listed in each country's pharmacopeia and are still actively used as treatment agents for various acute and chronic diseases. [26][27][28][29][30] Narrowing the scope to RA, the authors investigated whether even when EAHM is used as a monotherapy, it can lead to improvement in inflammatory pain in RA based on its effects on multiple mechanisms and action pathways. [31] Integrative medicine (IM) through combination therapy with conventional intervention is a more typical approach of using EAHM for chronic intractable disorders, such as RA.…”

Adverse Effects of Andrographolide Derivative Medications Compared to the Safe use of Herbal Preparations of Andrographis paniculata: Results of a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Clinical Studies

“…AP has the pharmacological effects of anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antiviral, antihyperglycemic, anticancer, antistress, hepatoprotective, and immunomodulatory (Hossain et al, 2014;Panossian et al, 2021). Herbal preparations of AP have been used in many countries to treat respiratory tract infections (RTIs) (Thamlikitkul et al, 1991;Cáceres et al, 1999;Saxena et al, 2010) and colitis (Tang et al, 2011;Sandborn et al, 2013), to treat early stages of COVID-19 (Kuchta et al, 2021), and to relieve the symptoms of arthritis (Burgos et al, 2009;Hancke et al, 2019). Results of previous systematic reviews showed that, herbal preparations of AP were beneficial and safe for relieving the symptoms of RTIs and shortening time to symptom resolution (Coon and Ernst, 2004;Hu et al, 2017).…”