Understanding COVID-19 in light of Ayurveda and exploring possible role of immune booster Kashaya in its management

Abstract

Background: A new virus of corona family known as novel coronavirus causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) also known severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). A good number of principles are found in the classical texts of Ayurveda, which can be compared with the concepts of SARS-CoV-2, and many herbal drugs written in the Ayurvedic text, through its immunomodulatory effect, may enhance host–defense mechanism against such diseases to decrease the mortality. Aim: Our objectives of this review are (i) to understand the concepts of SARS-CoV-2 in light of Ayurveda with their approximate delineation through theoretical analysis; (ii) to review the role of Immune Booster Kashaya Special (IBKS) in boosting and regulating immunity and in preventing complications; and (iii) to explore the effectiveness of each drug among scientific community to facilitate for their extensive research. Methodology: We also searched for relevant keywords in various texts of Ayurveda as well as on online databases such as PubMed, Science Direct, Scopus, CrossRef, and Google Scholar to understand the concepts of SARS-CoV-2 in light of Ayurveda and to explore the possible role of 14 medicinal plants of “immune booster Kashaya” formulation. Result: We found that SARS-CoV-2 is symptomatically very much similar to Sannipataj Jwar as described in Ayurveda and the content of IBKS possesses antiviral, immunomodulatory, antioxidant, antipyretic, anti-inflammatory, cardioprotective, antianxiety, and phagocytic properties. It seems to promote the body's immune mechanism against viral activity and to prevent complications such as inflammation-induced damage and cytokine storming in COVID-19. Conclusion: As there is a lack of an effective SARS-CoV-2 virus-specific medicine or vaccine, these immunomodulatory strategies may be implemented before or shortly after viral exposure and may be paired with antiviral therapies to improve antiviral immune responses by providing interferon-inducing agents or by nonspecific boosting of immunity with innate factors. Immune booster Kashaya should be gone through extensive in vivo and in vitro studies and clinical trials for further validation.