Could nature be the solution- A review on selected folklore medicinal plants with antiviral activities repurposed for COVID-19 treatment

ABSTRACT

The outbreak and rapid spread of novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has resulted in global pandemic. The purpose of this work is to provide an ethnopharmacological overview of selected medicinal plants having antiviral activity along with their applications to treat COVID-19 related symptoms based on fragmented literature. Hundreds of published research articles were screened and reviewed using online search engines such as PubMed, PMC and Google Scholar with relevant keywords related to coronavirus, antiviral medicinal plants, phytochemical compounds, cough and fever. A total of 12 plants having antiviral activity against a number of viruses were documented with their probable mechanism of action. Most of the studied plants and their compounds were also reported to have other therapeutic potentials and were used to boost immunity, treat cough, fever, tiredness, difficulty in breathing and diarrhoea, which are common symptoms of COVID-19 infections as per World Health Organization. This review hopefully opens a new horizon in the development of antiviral drug against novel coronavirus COVID-19.