Plant adaptive agents: promising therapeutic molecules in the treatment of post-viral fatigue

In recent years, the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in China has been effectively controlled by implementing national prevention and control measures. However, a large number of recovered patients are plagued by fatigue, whether acute or chronic, and other fatigue-related syndromes that severely affect their quality of life. Post-viral fatigue syndrome (PVFS) is a widespread chronic neurological disease with no definite etiological factor(s), definitive diagnostic test, or approved pharmacological treatment, therapy, or cure. In this study, we performed a bibliometric analysis and the results suggested that neuroinflammation played a role in the development of PVFS. Therefore, we briefly analyzed the mechanisms underlying the development of neuroinflammation in patients with COVID-19. To identify effective drugs to alleviate PVSF, we summarized four traditional herbal phytoadaptations and discussed their molecular mechanisms in improving neurological fatigue. Our study showed that ginseng, Acanthopanax, Rhodiola, and Schisandra played beneficial roles in alleviating PVSF. Graphical abstract: http://links.lww.com/AHM/A45.