Jinhua Qinggan granule, a Chinese herbal medicine against COVID‑19, induces rapid changes in the neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio and plasma levels of IL‑6 and IFN‑γ: An open‑label, single‑arm pilot study

Traditional Chinese herbal medicine has provided clinical benefits to patients infected with coronavirus 2019 (COVID‐19) in China. Jinhua Qinggan granule (JHQGG) is a Chinese multi‐herbal formula previously developed for the treatment of H1N1 influenza and has been encouraged for use in patients with clinically suspected COVID‐19 infection. However, the immunopharmacological mechanism for the efficacy of JHQGG has not yet been confirmed. To obtain insight into this issue, the present study examined the acute effects of JHQGG ingestion on hematological and immunological parameters using uninfected individuals as subjects. For this purpose, 18 healthy volunteers were enrolled, all of whom tested negative for prior and current severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection. Peripheral blood samples were collected 1 h after a single oral JHQGG administration and subjected to hematological, biochemical and cytokine tests. JHQGG rapidly induced a significant decrease in the plasma level of interleukin (IL)‐6 (P=0.00309) and an increase in the plasma level of interferon (IFN)‐γ (P=0.0268). A decrease in IL‐6 and an increase in IFN‐γ levels were observed in 14 (77.8%) and 13 (72.2%) subjects, respectively. Notably, JHQGG significantly decreased the proportion of neutrophils (P=0.00561) and increased that of lymphocytes (P=0.00485); accordingly, the neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) was significantly reduced by JHQGG (P=0.00649). These findings suggest that the clinical benefits of the use of JHQGG against COVID‐19 are, at least in part, associated with its rapid modulatory effects on IL‐6, IFN‐γ and NLR. Considering that IL‐6 and NLR are critical biomarkers for severe COVID‐19 infection, JHQGG may thus be suitable not only for suppressing disease onset in suspected and asymptomatic cases, but also for preventing disease progression in patients with mild to severe infection. The present open‐label, single‐arm study has been prospectively registered on the University Hospital Medical Information Network‐Clinical Trials Registry (UMIN‐CTR) under the trial no. UMIN000040407 on May 15, 2020.