Potential role of herbal medicinal agents against COVID-19 infection

Abstract

In December 2019, a novel infection called Corona virus disease (COVID-19) was first detected in Wuhan, China; caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome Corona virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).On 11th March,2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 infection a pandemic. Since then the scientific community around the world is trying to decipher this infection to control it better. We have been successful in formulating the vaccine against it in record time, but during this course, it has taken a huge toll of human lives leaving behind people who got infected with various side effects of the infection. In the absence of any definitive treatment, many alternative modes of management systems have appeared. Various herbal agents appear to have a potential role in prevention and management of this infection. In the limited time so far, several studies have been conducted which have shown positive results but also highlights their potential drawbacks with insufficient scientific evidence. This review describes the potential role of common herbal agents as possible means of management of this infection and the need of further research in this direction where these traditional and relatively safe methods could be integrated in the management schemes of various chronic infections and diseases.