Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2024;30(21):1681-1698.
doi: 10.2174/0113816128269864231112094917.

Ayurvedic and Chinese Herbs against Coronaviruses

Affiliations
Review

Ayurvedic and Chinese Herbs against Coronaviruses

Amin Gasmi et al. Curr Pharm Des. 2024.

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a viral disease that infects the lower airways, causing severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and fatal pneumonia. The ripple effect of the COVID-19 outbreak has created serious problems in the healthcare systems of many countries and had far-reaching consequences for the global economy. Thus, effective control measures should be implemented for this coronavirus infection in the future. The ongoing episode of the SARS-CoV-2 sickness, COVID-19, in China, and the subsequent irregular spread of contamination to different nations, has alarmed the clinical and academic community primarily due to the deadly nature of this disease. Being a newly identified virus in the viral classification and having the highest mutation rate, rapid therapeutics are not readily available for treating this ailment, leading to the widespread of the disease and causing social issues for affected individuals. Evidence of Ayurveda and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been found in ancient civilizations, such as those of the Hindus, Babylonians, Hebrews, and Arabs. Although TCM and Ayurvedic herbs do not promise to be very effective treatments for this pandemic, they can reduce infectivity and virulence by enhancing immunity and showing effectiveness in rehabilitation after COVID-19 disease. Thus, they could be used as sources of inhibitor molecules for certain phenomena, such as viral replication, attachment to the host, 3CL protease inhibition, 3a ion channel inhibitors, and reverse transcription inhibition. Medicinal plants from TCM and Ayurveda and their biologically active phytoconstituents can effectively modulate the targets and pathways relevant to inflammation and immune responses in human bodies. The present review analyzes the role of certain TCM and Ayurvedic medicinal plants in healing COVID-19 infection. Medicinal plants such as Glycyrrhiza glabra (licorice), Curcuma longa (turmeric), and Zingiber officinale (ginger) are regarded as the main antiviral herbs. Their extracts and individual bioactive compounds could be used as potential substances for developing remedies to prevent or cure the coronavirus disease. Generally, antiviral phytochemicals obtained from natural sources are considered potent candidates for fighting COVID-19 infection and rehabilitation after it.

Keywords: Ayurveda; COVID-19; TCM; curcumin; gingerol.; glycyrrhizin; immunomodulation; medicinal plants; quercetin; virucidal effect.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

References

    1. Gorbalenya A.E.; Baker S.C.; Baric R.S.; de Groot R.J.; Drosten C.; Gulyaeva A.A.; Haagmans B.L.; Lauber C.; Leontovich A.M.; Neuman B.W.; Penzar D.; Perlman S.; Poon L.L.M.; Samborskiy D.V.; Sidorov I.A.; Sola I.; Ziebuhr J.; The species severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus: Classifying 2019-nCoV and naming it SARS-CoV-2. Nat Microbiol 2020,5(4),536-544 - DOI
    1. Kupferschmidt K.; Cohen J.; Will novel virus go pandemic or be contained? Science 2020,367(6478),610-611 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Adithya J.; Nair B.; Aishwarya T.S.; Nath L.R.; The plausible role of indian traditional medicine in combating corona virus (SARS- CoV 2): A mini-review. Curr Pharm Biotechnol 2021,22(7),906-919 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Chen J.; Ding Z.; Advances in natural product anti-coronavirus research (2002-2022). Chin Med 2023,18(1),13 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Shanaida M.; Klishch I.; Sedative effect of infusions from five lamiaceae martinov species. Pharmacologyonline 2021,3,1292-1298

MeSH terms