Herbal Medicine and COVID-19: An Umbrella Review

Abstract

Background: Most systems of traditional medicine have been using herbal medicines to prevent and treat acute respiratory conditions and various other conditions for centuries. The aim of this project is to identify and examine the systematic and narrative reviews reporting on the therapeutic use of herbal medicines as it relates to the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 and long COVID. Methods: This paper is part of an umbrella review of studies related to natural health products and natural therapies for the prevention or treatment of COVID-19. It is a follow-up to a live review that was conducted by the World Naturopathic Federation between May 2022 and May 2023. PubMed and Google Scholar were searched for systematic and narrative reviews that met defined quality criteria. Results: Over half of the initial systematic reviews were excluded as they did not meet the inclusion and AMSTAR criteria. The final paper included 25 narrative reviews and 41 systematic reviews (SR), with half of the SRs reporting on the safety of herbal interventions. Various therapeutic properties of over 60 herbal medicines were outlined, some individually and most of them as part of herbal formula (combinations). Conclusion/Summary: Herbal interventions demonstrated statistically significant improved recovery in patients with COVID-19. The most common therapeutic properties identified were immunological properties, anti-inflammatory, anti- microbial, and antioxidant while the most frequently investigated herbs were Glycyrrhiza glabra/uralensis, Tinospora cordifolia, and Curcuma longa. More attention is needed on the regulation of herbal medicines, the quality of research, and the safety of herbal medicines.

The Role of Traditional, Complementary, and Integrative Healthcare (TCIH) Therapies and Practices in the Prevention and/or Treatment of COVID-19: An Umbrella Review

“…The Task Force identified and produced six umbrella reviews encompassing herbal medicine 11 ; vitamins 12 ; minerals 13 ; nutraceuticals (quercetin, n-acetyl cysteine, omega-3 fish oil, melatonin, probiotics, and propolis) 14 ; diet and food 15 ; and movement, exercise and breathing. 16 As outlined in Table 1, the umbrella review started with 94 narrative reviews and 308 systematic reviews identified by the live review.…”

“…found adequate nutritional levels of various vitamins and minerals were preventive against COVID-19 and numerous nutritional deficiencies were correlated with a decreased rate of recovery (ROR) from COVID-19 symptoms and worsened rate of conversion (ROC). Oakes et al11 reviewed the publications investigating herbal medicine and found therapeutic interventions that combined herbal medicines with conventional Western medical treatments showed significant improvements in both ROR and ROC. Although additional research is needed with respect to nutraceuticals, according to Karzon et al,14 the current data suggests that the anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, and antioxidant properties of various NHPs provided therapeutic value both preventively and in treatment of COVID-19.…”