ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has provided an opportunity for repurposing of drugs, including complex, natural drugs, to meet the global need for safe and effective antiviral medicines which do not promote multidrug resistance nor inflate medical costs. The author herein describes his own repurposing of herbal tinctures, previously prepared for oncology, into a possibly synergistic, anti-COVID 41 "herb" formula of extracts derived from 36 different plants and medicinal mushrooms. A method of multi-sample in vitro testing in green monkey kidney vero cells is proposed for testing the Hypothesis that even in such a large combination, antiviral potency may be preserved, along with therapeutic synergy, smoothness, and complexity. The possibility that the formula's potency may improve with age is considered, along with a suitable method for testing it. Collaborative research inquiries are welcome.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 Drug Treatment , Peganum , Animals , Antiviral Agents/pharmacology , Antiviral Agents/therapeutic use , Chlorocebus aethiops , Humans , Pandemics , Plant Extracts/pharmacology , Plant Extracts/therapeutic use , Seeds , Vero CellsABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Pears have been world-widely used as a sweet and nutritious food and a folk medicine for more than two millennia. METHODS: We conducted a review from ancient literatures to current reports to extract evidence-based functions of pears. RESULTS: We found that pears have many active compounds, e.g., flavonoids, triterpenoids, and phenolic acids including arbutin, chlorogenic acid, malaxinic acid, etc. Most of researchers agree that the beneficial compounds are concentrated in the peels. From various in vitro, in vivo, and human studies, the medicinal functions of pears can be summarized as anti-diabetic,-obese, -hyperlipidemic, -inflammatory, -mutagenic, and -carcinogenic effects, detoxification of xenobiotics, respiratory and cardio-protective effects, and skin whitening effects. Therefore, pears seem to be even effective for prevention from Covid-19 or PM2.5 among high susceptible people with multiple underlying diseases. CONCLUSION: For the current or post Covid-19 era, pears have potential for functional food or medicine for both of communicable and non-communicable disease.