Repurposing of drugs is one of the ways to combat COVID-19 and Traditional Chinese
Medicine set a precedence for such an approach at the outset of the pandemic. In India, the Ministry of
AYUSH has recommended a number of formulations in clinical management of COVID-19. Vyaghryadi
Kashayam (VK) is a classical formulation indicated in the management of Vatakaphajvara (a type of
fever) which is amongst the medicines recommended for management of COVID-19. The constituents of
VK are Zingiber officinale Roscoe, Tinospora cordifolia (Thunb.) Miers and Solanum xanthocarpum
Schrad & Wendl. A chemical profile of VK was generated using HPTLC and LC-MS/MS QTOF. Out of
the 31 identified phytochemicals in VK, it was found that seven have been reported to have activity against
SARS-CoV-2 in prior docking studies. Cellular uptake studies of VK in Caco2 cells showed that all these
seven phytochemicals were absorbed by the cells. These findings provide preliminary hints about the
potential of VK in clinical management of COVID-19. Further confirmatory in-vitro studies are warranted
before large scale clinical studies are initiated.
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