Plain language summary
At the time of writing, there were no known vaccines or treatments for Covid-19. This systematic review article aimed to investigate how Covid-19 works in the body and any Nigerian based medicinal plants that could mitigate this. The paper first began by discussing that the highly contagious nature and susceptibility of the population has ensured that Covid-19 has spread to all continents and that men may be more susceptible than women. How the virus enters the body’s cells, and the extreme inflammatory reaction it causes was extensively discussed. The paper went on to explain that Covid-19 had a higher infectivity and was more easily transmitted but a lower death rate in comparison to other coronaviruses such as Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). The authors then go on to extensively review plants that may be of benefit to individuals with Covid-19 due to their anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, antioxidant, and cell membrane and immune boosting properties. Finally, plants used in the treatment of other respiratory infections such as cold and flu were reviewed. It was concluded that although plants have been effective in the treatment of symptoms of Covid-19, research is needed to prove their abilities and that combining plants as a treatment regimen may be more effective. This study could be used by healthcare professionals to understand the mode of action of Covid-19 and how natural therapies could be included in a treatment plan.
Abstract
Despite the frightening mortality rate associated with COVID-19, there is no known approved drug to effectively combat the pandemic. COVID-19 clinical manifestations include fever, fatigue, cough, shortness of breath, and other complications. At present, there is no known effective treatment or vaccine that can mitigate/inhibit SARS-CoV-2. Available clinical intervention for COVID-19 is only palliative and limited to support. Thus, there is an exigent need for effective and non-invasive treatment. This article evaluates the possible mechanism of actions of SARS-CoV-2 and present Nigeria based medicinal plants which have pharmacological and biological activities that can mitigate the hallmarks of the pathogenesis of COVID-19. SARS-CoV-2 mode of actions includes hyper-inflammation characterized by a severe and fatal hyper-cytokinaemia with multi-organ failure; immunosuppression; reduction of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) to enhance pulmonary vascular permeability causing damage to the alveoli; and further activated by open reading frame (ORF)3a, ORF3b, and ORF7a via c-Jun N- terminal kinase (JNK) pathway which induces lung damage. These mechanisms of action of SARS-CoV-2 can be mitigated by a combination therapy of medicinal herbs based on their pharmacological activities. Since the clinical manifestations of COVID-19 are multifactorial with co-morbidities, we strongly recommend the use of combined therapy such that two or more herbs with specific therapeutic actions are administered to combat the mediators of the disease.
Methodological quality
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