Abstract
With the growing spread of COVID-19 worldwide, the appeal to alternative and nutritional therapies in conjunction with medical therapies has been heightened. This article aims to review studies assessing the roles of Chinese traditional medicine and nutrition in upper respiratory infections, including COVID-19. Various Chinese herbal protocols have been shown to fight respiratory infections, with several having been tested on the novel coronavirus. Additionally, promising findings have been reported when medical treatments were complemented with nutritional interventions. Supplementation with vitamins C and D, Zinc and Selenium are discussed, in addition to certain phytochemicals and food that also possess immunoregulatory and antiviral properties. Further clinical studies are needed to establish these alternative treatments as part of the management of emerging respiratory infections.
Highlights
In December 2019, in Wuhan China, the first human cases were detected for a novel acute infectious respiratory disease that primarily attacks the respiratory tract
This review aims to discuss studies investigating herbal and nutritional treatments of COVID-19 and other respiratory tract infections
Lycorine’s mode of action is still vague; unlike antiviral drugs that directly target viral protein and ribonucleic acid (RNA) polymerase activity [3], studies suggested that it inhibits the export of viral ribosomal proteins from the nucleus to the cytoplasm and the structural changes that coronaviruses induce in host cells [10]
Summary
In December 2019, in Wuhan China, the first human cases were detected for a novel acute infectious respiratory disease that primarily attacks the respiratory tract. The new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) shares similar clinical presentations with other coronavirus infections, mainly Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East. On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that COVID-19 was a pandemic that had spread to over 110 countries within the course of months. COVID-19 has symptoms similar to those of contracting a mild flu (fever, cough, and malaise), asymptomatic cases and other atypical symptoms have been reported as well [3,4]. Symptoms can rapidly develop and lead to respiratory failure and even multi-organ failure, necessitating admission to the intensive care unit (ICU) and initiating mechanical ventilation [5,6].
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