Australian Herbal Insight
Advances in Herbal Research | online ISSN 2209-1890
  1. You are here:
  2. Home
  3. Journals
  4. Plant Sciences
REVIEWS   (Open Access)
Contents Vol 7 (1)

Mechanical Insights and Advances in Herbal Medicine Pharmacology for Covid-19 Treatment: Exploring Efficacy, Mechanisms, and Future Prospects

Amina Razzaq 1*, Huma Ameen 1, Rida Aziz 2

+ Author Affiliations

Australian Herbal Insight 7 (1) 1-9 https://doi.org/10.25163/ahi.7120046

Submitted: 01 December 2023 Revised: 02 February 2024  Published: 08 February 2024 

Abstract

The global COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated the exploration of various therapeutic strategies, including the potential use of herbal medicine as an adjunctive treatment. This study, "Mechanical Insights and Advances in Herbal Medicine Pharmacology for COVID-19 Treatment: Exploring Efficacy, Mechanisms, and Future Prospects," aims to evaluate the efficacy and mechanisms of action of specific herbal compounds in combating SARS-CoV-2. Herbal medicines, with their rich historical usage and diverse bioactive constituents, offer a multifaceted approach to viral inhibition, immune modulation, and inflammation reduction. Compounds such as quercetin, curcumin, and resveratrol have shown promising antiviral activities by targeting key viral enzymes and modulating immune responses. Clinical trials of traditional Chinese medicine formulations like Lianhua Qingwen and Shufeng Jiedu have demonstrated potential benefits in symptom reduction and recovery enhancement. Moreover, herbal medicines are generally well-tolerated, affordable, and accessible, making them viable for low-resource settings. This study highlights the need for rigorous scientific validation and standardization of herbal formulations to maximize their safety and efficacy. Future research should focus on integrating modern pharmacological techniques with traditional knowledge to discover new bioactive compounds and develop innovative therapeutic agents. The successful integration of herbal medicine into COVID-19 treatment protocols requires interdisciplinary collaboration and robust regulatory frameworks to ensure safety and efficacy.

Keywords:  COVID-19, Herbal medicine,  Antiviral mechanisms, Traditional Chinese medicine,  Pharmacological efficacy

References

Báez-Santos, Y. M., John, S. E. S., & Mesecar, A. D. (2015). The SARS-coronavirus papain-like protease: structure, function and inhibition by designed antiviral compounds. Antiviral research, 115, 21-38.

CHANG, X. J. (2015). Mechanism of reduning injection on anti-acute lung injury in rats based on cytokine storm. Chinese Traditional and Herbal Drugs, 236-239.

Chen, H., & Du, Q. (2020). Potential natural compounds for preventing SARS-CoV-2 (2019-nCoV) infection.

Chen, J., Wang, Y. K., Gao, Y., Hu, L. S., Yang, J. W., Wang, J. R., … & Cao, Y. B. (2020). Protection against COVID-19 injury by qingfei paidu decoction via anti-viral, anti-inflammatory activity and metabolic programming. Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy, 129, 110281.

Chen, L., Li, J., Luo, C., Liu, H., Xu, W., & Chen, G. (2021). Binding interaction of quercetin-3-β-galactoside and its synthetic derivatives with SARS-CoV 3CLpro: Structure–activity relationship studies reveal salient pharmacophore features. Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry, 29, 115886.

Cinatl, J., Morgenstern, B., Bauer, G., Chandra, P., Rabenau, H., & Doerr, H. (2013). Glycyrrhizin, an active component of liquorice roots, and replication of SARS-associated coronavirus. The lancet, 361(9374), 2045-2046.

Cui, Y., Xin, H., Tao, Y., Mei, L., & Wang, Z. (2021). Arenaria kansuensis attenuates pulmonary fibrosis in mice via the activation of Nrf2 pathway and the inhibition of NF-kB/TGF-beta1/Smad2/3 pathway. Phytotherapy Research, 35(2), 974-986.

De Wilde, A. H., Snijder, E. J., Kikkert, M., & van Hemert, M. J. (2018). Host factors in coronavirus replication. Roles of host gene and non-coding RNA expression in virus infection, 1-42.

Derosa, G., Maffioli, P., D'Angelo, A., & Di Pierro, F. (2020). A role for quercetin in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Phytotherapy Research, 34(5), 1420-1424.

Ding, Y., Zeng, L., Li, R., Chen, Q., Zhou, B., Chen, Q., ... & Pan, W. (2020). The Chinese prescription lianhuaqingwen capsule exerts anti-influenza activity through the inhibition of viral propagation and impacts immune function. BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies, 20(1), 1-13.

Dong, Y., Mo, X., Hu, Y., Qi, X., Jiang, F., Jiang, Z., & Tong, S. (2020). Epidemiology of COVID-19 among children in China. Pediatrics, 145(6).

Ekor, M. (2014). The growing use of herbal medicines: issues relating to adverse reactions and challenges in monitoring safety. Frontiers in Pharmacology, 4, 177.

Elfiky, A. A. (2020). Natural products may interfere with SARS-CoV-2 attachment to the host cell. Journal of Biomolecular Structure and Dynamics, 1-10.

Enmozhi, S. K., Raja, K., Sebastine, I., & Joseph, J. (2021). Andrographolide as a potential inhibitor of SARS-CoV-2 main protease: an in silico approach. Journal of biomolecular structure and dynamics, 39(9), 3092-3098.

Fehr, A. R., & Perlman, S. (2015). Coronaviruses: an overview of their replication and pathogenesis. Coronaviruses: methods and protocols, 1-23.

Forni, C., Facchiano, F., Bartolini, D., Pieretti, S., Facchiano, A., & D’Arcangelo, D. (2021). COVID-19 vaccines: where we stand and challenges ahead.

Hadjadj, J., Yatim, N., Barnabei, L., Corneau, A., Boussier, J., Smith, N., … & Terrier, B. (2020). Impaired type I interferon activity and inflammatory responses in severe COVID-19 patients. Science, 369(6504), 718-724.

Hetrick, B., Yu, D., Olanrewaju, A. A., Chilin, L. D., He, S., Dabbagh, D., … & Wu, Y. (2021). A traditional medicine, respiratory detox shot (RDS), inhibits the infection of SARS-CoV, SARS-CoV-2, and the influenza A virus in vitro. Cell & Bioscience, 11(1), 100.

Huang, Y. F., Bai, C., He, F., Xie, Y., & Zhou, H. (2020). Review on the potential action mechanisms of Chinese medicines in treating Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Pharmacological research, 158, 104939.

Ibarrondo, F. J., Fulcher, J. A., Goodman-Meza, D., Elliott, J., Hofmann, C., Hausner, M. A., … & Yang, O. O. (2020). Rapid decay of anti–SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in persons with mild Covid-19. New England Journal of Medicine, 383(11), 1085-1087.

Jimilihan, S. I. M. A. Y. I., Maimaitiming, N. E. M. M. T., Ainiwaer, W. U. M. A. I. E. R., Maierdan, Y. U. S. U. F. U., Muhadaisi, N., Nulibiya, M. A. H. E. M. U. T. I., & Zhou, W. T. (2020). Study on the active components in the adjuvant treatment of novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19) with Jinhua Qinggan granules based on network pharmacology and molecular docking. Journal of Chinese Medicinal Materials, 43(5), 1275-1283.

Jin, D., An, X., Zhang, Y., Zhao, S., Duan, L., Duan, Y., … & Tong, X. (2021). Potential mechanism prediction of herbal medicine for pulmonary fibrosis associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection based on network analysis and molecular docking. Frontiers in Pharmacology, 12, 602218.

Li, L. C., Zhang, Z. H., Zhou, W. C., Chen, J., Jin, H. Q., Fang, H. M., … & Kan, L. D. (2020). Lianhua Qingwen prescription for Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) treatment: Advances and prospects. Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy, 130, 110641.

Ling, X. Y. (2020). Exploring material basis and mechanism of Lianhua Qingwen prescription against coronavirus based on network pharmacology. Chinese Traditional and Herbal Drugs, 1723-1730.

Liu, Y., Eggo, R. M., & Kucharski, A. J. (2020). Secondary attack rate and superspreading events for SARS-CoV-2. The Lancet, 395(10227), e47.

Lu, X., Zhang, L., Du, H., Zhang, J., Li, Y. Y., Qu, J., … & Wong, G. W. (2020). SARS-CoV-2 infection in children. New England Journal of Medicine, 382(17), 1663-1665.

Ma, Q., Pan, W., Li, R., Liu, B., Li, C., Xie, Y., … & Yang, Z. (2020). Liu Shen capsule shows antiviral and anti-inflammatory abilities against novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 via suppression of NF-κB signaling pathway. Pharmacological Research, 158, 104850.

Mehta, P., McAuley, D. F., Brown, M., Sanchez, E., Tattersall, R. S., & Manson, J. J. (2020). COVID-19: consider cytokine storm syndromes and immunosuppression. The lancet, 395(10229), 1033-1034.

Meng, X. Y., Zhang, H. X., Mezei, M., & Cui, M. (2011). Molecular docking: a powerful approach for structure-based drug discovery. Current computer-aided drug design, 7(2), 146-157.

Morse, J. S., Lalonde, T., Xu, S., & Liu, W. R. (2020). Learning from the past: possible urgent prevention and treatment options for severe acute respiratory infections caused by 2019-nCoV. Chembiochem, 21(5), 730-738.

Pan, F., Ye, T., Sun, P., Gui, S., Liang, B., Li, L., … & Zheng, C. (2020). Time course of lung changes at chest CT during recovery from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Radiology, 295(3), 715-721.

Ren, Y., Yao, M. C., Huo, X. Q., Gu, Y., Zhu, W. X., Qiao, Y. J., & Zhang, Y. L. (2020). Study on treatment of” cytokine storm” by anti-2019-nCoV prescriptions based on arachidonic acid metabolic pathway. Zhongguo Zhong yao za zhi= Zhongguo zhongyao zazhi= China journal of Chinese materia medica, 45(6), 1225-1231.

Ryu, Y. B., Jeong, H. J., Kim, J. H., Kim, Y. M., Park, J. Y., Kim, D., … & Lee, W. S. (2010). Biflavonoids from Torreya nucifera displaying SARS-CoV 3Clpro inhibition. Bioorganic & medicinal chemistry, 18(22), 7940-7947.

Shahrajabian, M. H., Sun, W., Soleymani, A., & Cheng, Q. (2021). Traditional herbal medicines to overcome stress, anxiety and improve mental health in outbreaks of human coronaviruses. Phytotherapy research, 35(3), 1237-1247.

Shen, F. F. Z. Y., Fu, Z. Y., Wu, Y. R., Kuang, G. Y., Li, L., Zhu, K. M., … & Lai, Q. L. (2020). The potential targets and mechanisms of Shufeng Jiedu Capsule for novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19) based on network pharmacology and molecular docking. Guiding J Tradit Chin Med Pharm, 26(5), 8-15.

Shen, F., Fu, Z. Y., Wu, Y. R., Li, L., Zhao, Y. D., Xia, Y., & Kuang, G. (2020). Based on Network Pharmacology and High-Throughput Molecular Docking to Study the Potential Molecular Mechanism of Active Compounds That Bind SARS-Cov-2 Specific Target Protein in Jinhua Qingan Granules to Interfere with CovID-19. Modernization of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Materia Materia-World Science and Technology. Available at: http://kns. Cnki. Net/kcms/detail/11.5699, 20200421, 004.

Shi, N., Guo, L., Liu, B., Bian, Y., Chen, R., Chen, S., … & Huang, L. (2021). Efficacy and safety of Chinese herbal medicine versus Lopinavir-Ritonavir in adult patients with coronavirus disease 2019: A non-randomized controlled trial. Phytomedicine, 81, 153367.

Su, H., Yao, S., Zhao, W., Li, M., Liu, J., Shang, W., … & Xu, Y. (2020). Discovery of baicalin and baicalein as novel, natural product inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 3CL protease in vitro. BioRxiv, 2020-04.

Tao, Q., Du, J., Li, X., Zeng, J., Tan, B., Xu, J., … & Chen, X. L. (2020). Network pharmacology and molecular docking analysis on molecular targets and mechanisms of Huashi Baidu formula in the treatment of COVID-19. Drug development and industrial pharmacy, 46(8), 1345-1353.

Wu, H., Wang, J. Q., Yang, Y. W., Li, T. Y., Cao, Y. J., Qu, Y. X., … & Sun, Y. K. (2020). Preliminary exploration of the mechanism of Qingfei Paidu decoction against novel coronavirus pneumonia based on network pharmacology and molecular docking technology. Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica, 55(3), 374-383.

Xiong, W. Z., Wang, G., Du, J., & Ai, W. (2020). Efficacy of herbal medicine (Xuanfei Baidu decoction) combined with conventional drug in treating COVID-19: A pilot randomized clinical trial. Integrative medicine research, 9(3), 100489.

Yang, G., Tan, Z., Zhou, L., Yang, M., Peng, L., Liu, J., … & He, S. (2020). Effects of angiotensin II receptor blockers and ACE (angiotensin-converting enzyme) inhibitors on virus infection, inflammatory status, and clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19 and hypertension: a single-center retrospective study. Hypertension, 76(1), 51-58.

Yang, R., Liu, H., Bai, C., Wang, Y., Zhang, X., Guo, R., … & Wang, Y. (2020). Chemical composition and pharmacological mechanism of Qingfei Paidu Decoction and Ma Xing Shi Gan Decoction against Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): in silico and experimental study. Pharmacological research, 157, 104820.

Yang, Y. (2020). Use of herbal drugs to treat COVID-19 should be with caution. The Lancet, 395(10238), 1689-1690.

Yu, S., Wang, J., & Shen, H. (2020). Network pharmacology-based analysis of the role of traditional Chinese herbal medicines in the treatment of COVID-19. Annals of palliative medicine, 9(2), 43746-43446.

Yu, Y., Zhang, Y., Wang, S., Liu, W., Hao, C., & Wang, W. (2019). Inhibition effects of patchouli alcohol against influenza a virus through targeting cellular PI3K/Akt and ERK/MAPK signaling pathways. Virology journal, 16, 1-16.

ZHANG, T. J. (2020). Basic study on treatment of COVID-19 with Shufeng Jiedu Capsule and research and development ideas of new Chinese materia medica against COVID-19. Chinese Traditional and Herbal Drugs, 2273-2282.

Zhang, X., Xue, Y., Chen, X., Wu, J. M., Su, Z. J., Sun, M., … & Chen, Q. (2021). Effects of Tanreqing Capsule on the negative conversion time of nucleic acid in patients with COVID-19: a retrospective cohort study. Journal of integrative medicine, 19(1), 36-41.

ZHAO, J. (2020). Investigating mechanism of Qing-Fei-Pai-Du-Tang for treatment of COVID-19 by network pharmacology. Chinese Traditional and Herbal Drugs, 829-835.

Zu, Z. Y., Jiang, M. D., Xu, P. P., Chen, W., Ni, Q. Q., Lu, G. M., & Zhang, L. J. (2020). Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): a perspective from China. Radiology, 296(2), E15-E25

PDF
Abstract
Export Citation

View Dimensions


View Plumx


View Altmetric




Save
0
Citation
274
View

Share