The Possibility of Using Traditional Chinese Medicine for the Treatment of COVID-19: A Narrative Review

In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is still a lack of miracle drugs for treatment. Repurposing drugs such as Remdesivir and corticosteroids to treat COVID-19 are being studied. Traditional Chinese medicine was widely used during the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) coronavirus infection in China in 2003. It was found that standard medical treatment combined with Chinese medicine treatment may improve the symptoms of SARS patients and speeding resolution of lung infiltration. The commonly used prescriptions for preventing the coronavirus infection are Sangjuyin plus Yupingfeng powder. Various Traditional Chinese medicines with potential to fight SARS-CoV-2 include Liquorice Root and Rhizome, Rhubarb, Heartleaf Houttuynia Herb, Indi-gowoad Root, Tangerine Peel, Scutellaria Root, and Red Sage Root and Rhizome etc. In addition, Chinese patent medicines including Shuanghuanglian Oral liquid, Lianhua Qingwen Capsule, Jinhua Qinggan Granule and Taiwan Chingguan Yihau are recognized as plausible agents for the treatment of novel coronavirus pneumonia. The antiviral, anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects of selected Chinese herbal drugs may attribute to their inhibiting the binding of the coronavirus spike protein to the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor, inhibiting key enzymes such as 3-chymotrypsin-like protease and ribonucleic acid (RNA)- dependent RNA polymerase during viral replication, and reducing pro-inflammatory cytokines. Since most of the relevant studies mentioned the potential anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity of these agents were only in vitro and animal experiments, more randomized double-blind controlled trials are needed to provide reliable evidence of clinical efficacy in future.