Traditional Chinese medicine has played a crucial role in the prevention, treatment and recovery from infection by the new coronavirus Covid 19 in China.
Official statistics from Hubei province show that 92.4% of affected patients in China were treated with traditional Chinese medicine in combination with antivirals.
China has published several scientific papers in the last month on their experience with the use of traditional Chinese medicine, and with the herbal formulas they have used to prevent and treat Covid 19.
On March 16, experts from Peking Union Medical College Hospital, met via videoconference to share with U.S. experts their knowledge on the effectiveness of combined traditional Chinese medicine treatments alongside conventional treatments.
People affected by the SARS outbreak in 2003 were successfully treated in the past.
During the Influenza A pandemic of 2009, China carried out a prevention program with four Chinese plant formulas that were administered according to the type of person's constitution. This accumulated experience was used to establish prevention programs with Chinese plant formulas from the beginning of the Covid 19 pandemic.
They were based on 3 studies that evaluated the use of Chinese plant formulas as prevention of SARS virus infection, noting that 100% of people who had used the formulas had not become infected. Four other studies to prevent the transmission of influenza A showed that the transmission was significantly lower.
The most commonly used plants in the formulas were: Radix Astragali, Radix Glycyrrhizae, Radix Saposhnikoviae, Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae, Lonicerae Japonica Flos and Fructus Forsythia.
China recommends the use of Chinese Herbs formulas that have proven effective in preventing the spread of SARS, influenza A and Covid 19 to other countries.
Prevention is the most important part, both in quarantine and once it is over, as ecovid 19 will continue to circulate until the vaccine appears.
Scientific studies on the use of traditional Chinese medicine in the prevention and treatment of Covid 19
- LUO Hui, TANG Qiao-ling et al. (2020) Can Chinese Medicine Be Used for Prevention of Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)? A Review of Historical Classics, Research Evidence and Current Prevention Programs. Chin J Integr Med 2020. DOI: doi.org/10.1007/s11655-020-3192-6
- Deng-hai Zhang et al. (2020) In silico screening of Chinese herbal medicines with the potential to directly inhibit 2019 novel coronavirus. J Integr Med. Volume 18, Issue 2, March 2020, Pages 152-158. doi.org/10.1016/j.joim.2020.02.005.
- Ren JL, Zhang AH, Wang XJ. (2020) Traditional Chinese medicine for COVID-19 treatment. [published online ahead of print, 2020 Mar 4]. Pharmacol Res. 2020;155:104743. doi:10.1016/j.phrs.2020.104743
- Yang Y, Islam MS, Wang J, Li Y, Chen X. (2020) Traditional Chinese Medicine in the Treatment of Patients Infected with 2019-New Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2): A Review and Perspective. Int J Biol Sci 2020; 16(10):1708-1717. doi:10.7150/ijbs.45538. Available from /www.ijbs.com/v16p1708.htm
- Chan KW, Wong VT, Tang SCW. (2020) COVID-19: An Update on the Epidemiological, Clinical, Preventive and Therapeutic Evidence and Guidelines of Integrative Chinese-Western Medicine for the Management of 2019 Novel Coronavirus Disease [published online ahead of print, 2020 Mar 13]. Am J Chin Med. 2020;1-26. doi:10.1142/S0192415X20500378
- Ling CQ. (2020) Traditional Chinese medicine is a resource for drug discovery against 2019 novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). J Integr Med. 2020;18(2):87-88. doi:10.1016/j.joim.2020.02.004
