Traditional Chinese herbal medicine-potential therapeutic application for the treatment of COVID-19

• Published in: Chinese medicine Vol. 16; no. 1; pp. 24 - 6
• Main Authors: Capodice, Jillian L, Chubak, Barbara M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 22-02-2021; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Acupuncture; Asymptomatic; Biological activity; Care and treatment; Chinese medicine; Clinical medicine; Coronaviruses; COVID; COVID-19; Disease transmission; Drug therapy; Epidemics; Health aspects; Herbal medicine; Influenza; Lungs; Medicine, Botanic; Medicine, Herbal; Pandemics; Patients; Pneumonia; Principles; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; TCM; Traditional Chinese medicine; Vaccines; France; United States > US; China; COVID; COVID-19; Herbal medicine; Chinese medicine; TCM
• ISSN: 1749-8546; 1749-8546
• DOI: 10.1186/s13020-020-00419-6

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is a complete medical system that has evolved over millennia to include practices and procedures such as acupuncture, herbal medicine, manual therapies, nutrition, and mind-body therapies such as qi gong. In modern-day China and other Asian countries, TCM is a medical subspecialty utilized alongside western biomedicine. During the current Coronavirus Disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic, TCM and TCM herbal medicine is being used and a number of single herbs and combination formulas have significant bioactivity and therapeutic potential. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the use of TCM in the treatment of COVID-19. This commentary provides the reader with a concise background on COVID-19 and summarizes TCM concepts including identification, pattern diagnosis, and treatment principles commonly used for the treatment of viral influenza-like diseases. It also highlights some of the challenges and potential for using TCM in an integrated medical setting.