ABSTRACT
Purpose: Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) is a common therapy and is used alongside conventional medicine in some Chinese and Taiwanese hospitals. While a few trials are published outside of the US examining CHM's impact on coronaviruses, in the United States, before a trial can begin, the Food and Drug Administration requires evidence of safety and effectiveness for each herb to be used. Methods: This project is a literature review of articles needed to pursue prospective controlled research in Chinese Herbal Medicine. We are following the template of a group of NIH-funded researchers who completed a successful botanical application to the Federal Drug Administration (Ritenbaugh et al, 2012). We first received from our expert herbal collaborators a list of the 60 most necessary single herbs needed to treat expected COVID-19 cases. Next, we developed a database to place herbs into the required categories: pharmacology, toxicology, interactions with biomedical drugs, and previous human experience. We searched HerbMed Pro, Natural Medicine, PubMed, Chinese Traditional Herb Database, and the textbook Chinese Herbal Medicine: Materia Medica and Formulas & Strategies v 4 (Bensky et al, 2013. Eastland Press). During the research, systematic reviews and meta-analysis resources were primarily considered. The primary targets included COVID-, viral infection-, and influenzarelated articles as well. Results: All categories in the database have been completed by the authors and we are currently double-checking each other's work. Conclusion: Students are learning what categories of information are necessary to conduct research in the United States, as well as deepening their understanding of evidence-based medicine and integrative medicine. This database will be used to support federal funding for a prospective controlled trial.