Herbal Medicine Might Help Battle Against Covid-19
Traditional Indian medicine, including herbs and oils, might have a role to play in helping fight Covid-19, according to new research.
Scientists in India, the UK and South Korea have published two studies which show plants used in traditional medicines in India could potentially be used both in face masks to improve their ability to filter out the virus and taken orally to slow infection rates and ease symptoms.
One of the authors of these studies, Dr Pattanathu Rahman in the Faculty of Science and Health at the University of Portsmouth, UK, said: “There is an urgent need for novel treatment options for Covid-19, and Indian medicinal plants might prove to be one of the ways forward.
“Various drugs to tackle Covid-19 are being developed all around the world at an extremely quick pace, with some already being tested in trials. The virus will eventually be defeated.
“Researchers including me and my colleagues are very curious about how best to protect people’s health before a vaccine is made available.
“Slowing the spread of the disease has been cited as our best chance of reducing its impact on our health services. This strategy, although crucial in maintaining the infrastructure of our hospitals, doesn’t help us treat those who are isolating at home with symptoms.
“Indian medicinal herbs are a promising field for the treatment of various illnesses. We hope that by identifying certain phytocompounds, we can isolate and administer them alone or mix them with other compounds to alleviate the infection.”
Traditional Indian medicine is used by millions of people worldwide and has been proven to help reduce the effects of other flu-like illnesses, like Covid-19.
The researchers hope that by repurposing drugs already known to be safe for humans, treatment options for Covid-19 could be speeded up.
The researchers list several medicinal plants that could be used as potential therapeutic agents against Covid-19.
Dr Rahman said it was likely to be at least a few months before a vaccine is available to fight Covid-19, but scientists already know it is structurally very similar to another Covid virus, SARS, for which Indian medicinal herbs have been found to be beneficial.
He and scientists led by Dr Balachandar Vellingiri at Bharathiar University in India have devised a way of infusing nano-fibre based respiratory masks with some of these herbs, which they claim will reduce the rate of infection passing through the filter and into the lungs of the wearer. The herb filter includes plants that were found to inactivate or ‘turn off’ the SARS virus.