RESUMEN
The advent of Corona virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) distorted health systems of many countries. Efforts have been made to either develop new treatment solutions such as vaccines or repurpose previously adopted drugs. Challenges in accessing available treatment, inadequate, non-existent, or overstretched healthcare facilities, long COVID disease, cultural practices and beliefs about vaccination, vaccine hesitancy, availability, accessibility and perceived safety of herbal supplements seem to be major factors propelling individuals to use herbal supplements. Published reports advocating for clinical development of herbal supplements for COVID-19 and other emerging and re-emerging viral diseases are sparse. This paper aims to review the pathogenesis of COVID-19, use of herbal products during the pandemic and make case for clinical development of herbal supplements through the adoption of modern and acceptable technologies and research processes. This was a scoping review. Database searches of Google Scholar, PubMed and ResearchGate among others were performed using related keywords to identify relevant journals and lists of primary articles. Clinical trial databases:-Clinicaltrial.gov, Pan African Clinical Trial Registry (PACTR) and WHO international clinical trial registry (ICTRP) were reviewed to extract data. The use of herbal supplements during COVID-19 was not only peculiar to individuals living in Sub-Saharan Africa, but a global practice. Herbal supplements recommended to manage COVID-19 have not been validated using clinical trials. Available data showed that the number of herbal supplements undergoing clinical trial for COVID-19 indication in Africa was low. The availability of medicinal plants in Sub-Saharan Africa if well explored has great potentials to address various emerging and re-emerging viral diseases confronting the region. The economic potential of clinically validated herbal supplements are huge, and tapping into this opportunity created by preference of population to herbal supplement could increase export of herbal supplement and gross domestic product (GDP) of respective countries in Africa.
RESUMEN
The advent of Corona virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) distorted health systems of many countries. Efforts have been made to either develop new treatment solutions such as vaccines or repurpose previously adopted drugs. Challenges in accessing available treatment, inadequate, non-existent, or overstretched healthcare facilities, long COVID disease, cultural practices and beliefs about vaccination, vaccine hesitancy, availability, accessibility and perceived safety of herbal supplements seem to be major factors propelling individuals to use herbal supplements. Published reports advocating for clinical development of herbal supplements for COVID-19 and other emerging and re-emerging viral diseases are sparse. This paper aims to review the pathogenesis of COVID-19, use of herbal products during the pandemic and make case for clinical development of herbal supplements through the adoption of modern and acceptable technologies and research processes. This was a scoping review. Database searches of Google Scholar, PubMed and ResearchGate among others were performed using related keywords to identify relevant journals and lists of primary articles. Clinical trial databases:-Clinicaltrial.gov, Pan African Clinical Trial Registry (PACTR) and WHO international clinical trial registry (ICTRP) were reviewed to extract data. The use of herbal supplements during COVID-19 was not only peculiar to individuals living in Sub-Saharan Africa, but a global practice. Herbal supplements recommended to manage COVID-19 have not been validated using clinical trials. Available data showed that the number of herbal supplements undergoing clinical trial for COVID-19 indication in Africa was low. The availability of medicinal plants in Sub-Saharan Africa if well explored has great potentials to address various emerging and re-emerging viral diseases confronting the region. The economic potential of clinically validated herbal supplements are huge, and tapping into this opportunity created by preference of population to herbal supplement could increase export of herbal supplement and gross domestic product (GDP) of respective countries in Africa.
RESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: To explore repurposing known natural products for managing patients with mild to moderate symptoms of COVID-19. CASE PRESENTATION: We present a case report of a middle aged woman, who was positive to COVID 19, with mild to moderate symptoms; who self -managed at home using well formulated herbal supplement (Combi-5) taken along with vitamin C and Zinc supplements. She recovered within a short time. CONCLUSIONS: While we may not conclude from this report that Combi-5 was solely responsible for the recovery of the patient, we strongly believe that it played significant role through different mechanisms in facilitating early recovery from the infection. Further studies are needed to evaluate the phytochemical and pharmacological constituents of the supplement; investigate its direct effect(s) on SARS CoV-2 and conduct randomized controlled trial to elucidate its clinical benefits.