Creating a chinese herbal medicine database to support a clinical trial for suspected COVID-19

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.