An Evaluation of Traditional Persian Medicine for the Management of SARS-CoV-2

Abstract

A new coronavirus causing severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV-2) has emerged and with it, a global investigation of new antiviral treatments and supportive care for organ failure due to this life-threatening viral infection. Traditional Persian Medicine (TPM) is one of the most ancient medical doctrines mostly known with the manuscripts of Avicenna and Rhazes. In this paper, we first introduce a series of medicinal plants that would potentially be beneficial in treating SARS-CoV-2 infection according to TPM textbooks. Then, we review medicinal plants based on the pharmacological studies obtained from electronic databases and discuss their mechanism of action in SARS-CoV-2 infection. There are several medicinal plants in TPM with cardiotonic, kidney tonic, and pulmonary tonic activities, protecting the lung, heart, and kidney, the three main vulnerable organs in SARS-CoV-2 infection. Some medicinal plants can prevent “humor infection”, a situation described in TPM which has similar features to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Pharmacological evaluations are in line with the therapeutic activities of several plants mentioned in TPM, mostly through antiviral, cytoprotective, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-apoptotic mechanisms. Amongst the primarily-introduced medicinal plants from TPM, rhubarb, licorice, garlic, saffron, galangal, and clove are the most studied plants and represent candidates for clinical studies. The antiviral compounds isolated from these plants provide novel molecular structures to design new semisynthetic antiviral agents. Future clinical studies in healthy volunteers as well as patients suffering from pulmonary infections are necessary to confirm the safety and efficacy of these plants as complementary and integrative interventions in SARS-CoV-2 infection.

The Common Cichory (Cichorium intybus L.) as a Source of Extracts with Health-Promoting Properties—A Review

“…The authors suggest that further in vitro and in vivo analyses are needed to confirm the findings. Nevertheless, chicory was among the plants with potential against SARS-CoV-2 [ 39 , 40 , 41 ]…”

Plant Products as Inhibitors of Coronavirus 3CL Protease

“…Natural products and their derivatives are used for treatment of various ailments since pre-historic times. A large number of herbal products and their constituents have shown promising inhibitory activity related to viral infections in humans (Ganta et al, 2017;Panda et al, 2017;Shen et al, 2019;Bahramsoltani and Rahimi, 2020). In 2002, during SARS-CoV outbreak in China, several clinical research projects were initiated on administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) in combination with Western medicine for treatment of SARS-CoV infection (WHO, 2004).…”

Molecular Basis of the Therapeutical Potential of Clove (Syzygium aromaticum L.) and Clues to Its Anti-COVID-19 Utility

“…Clove oil acts as an expectorant for treating respiratory disorders, including colds, bronchitis, cough, asthma, and upper-respiratory conditions [ 74 ]. In mixtures with honey, it helps in the case of chronic coughs and is mentioned to be specifically useful in the case of shortness of breath [ 82 ].…”

“…In experimental animal models, eugenol (at 200 and 400 mg/kg doses) was shown to reduce the volume of pleural exudates without changing the total count of blood leukocytes, which indicates the anti-inflammatory activity of this molecule [ 90 ]. Eugenol is believed to regulate the cellular inflammatory cascades, including the NF-κB (nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells) and ERK (extracellular-signal-regulated kinase)/MAPK (mitogen-activated protein kinase) pathways, and the release of proinflammatory interleukins [ 82 ]. In other studies, LPS (lipopolysaccharide)-induced lung inflammation was relieved by the treatment with both whole clove aqueous extract and eugenol through a reduction of TNF-α (tumor necrosis factor alpha) and inhibition of NF-κB signaling, also with improvement in the alveolar damage [ 91 , 92 ].…”

“…Clove is mentioned to improve the blood supply to both the brain and the heart and is used as a tonic for the cardiovascular system [ 82 ]. Moreover, clove oil was shown to inhibit the platelet aggregation induced by the platelet-activating factor, arachidonic acid, and collagen, with a higher activity observed in the first two systems than the latter [ 74 ].…”