Medicinal syrup for children from the association of significant parts of anti-COVID-19 medicinal plants from the Centre, Cameroon

Abstract

Abstract. Lamy GML, Nnanga LS, Mahama, Ossongo AF, Elomo LB, Tagne RS, Mbo JA, Likeng JLN, Nga EN, Harmsen K. 2023. Medicinal syrup for children from the association of significant parts of anti-COVID-19 medicinal plants from the Centre, Cameroon. Asian J Nat Prod Biochem 21: 58-66. In Africa, Improved Traditional Medication (ITM) has been promoted since 1970 and classified into four categories. The import-substitution policy under the "Made in Cameroon" label encourages local production. Globally, there is an urgent need for anti-COVID-19 drugs, especially for children. The mechanisms of action of SARS-CoV-2 can be attenuated by combination therapy of the parts of anti-COVID-19 medicinal plants. A plant has several parts whose therapeutic properties generally differ. From 2020 to 2022, the most cited anti-COVID-19 plants in the literature were Allium sativum L., Citrus ×limon (L.) Burm.fil., Cymbopogon citratus (DC.) Stapf, and Zingiber officinale Roscoe. Unfortunately, a gap exists in the names of the significant parts of these plants. For example, were the barks, leaves, roots, or flowers used? In addition, the significant association of said plants and the majority of traditional preparation methods are not specified. The objective was to determine the significant parts of 4 anti-COVID plants, their significant association, and the majority traditional method of preparation allowing the pre-formulation of an infant anti-COVID ITM syrup. An ethnomedicinal survey, ANOVA, and the pre-formulation protocol of a medicated syrup were used. Altogether, 180 informants from several ethnic groups participated. The bulb and rhizome parts for A. sativum and Z. officinal showed a significant difference (P<0.05) between plants. The leaves and fruits of C. citratus and C. limon showed a highly significant difference (P<0.000) between plants. The association of four significant plants and infusion, the majority traditional mode of preparation, allowed the pre-formulation of the infant syrup named COVID-Med, an ITM category 2. The bulbs, rhizomes, leaves, and fruits were significant parts of A. sativum, Z. officinale, C. citratus, and C. limon.