Previously published ethno-pharmacological reports reveal the potentiality of plants and plant-derived products used as traditional home remedies by Bangladeshi COVID-19 patients to combat SARS-CoV-2

Abstract

Several plants have traditionally been used since antiquity to treat various gastroenteritis and respiratory symptoms similar to COVID-19 outcomes. The common symptoms of COVID-19 include fever or chills, cold, cough, flu, headache, diarrhoea, tiredness/fatigue, sore throat, loss of taste or smell, asthma, shortness of breath, or difficulty breathing, etc. This study aims to find out the plants and plant-derived products which are being used by the COVID-19 infected patients in Bangladesh and how those plants are being used for the management of COVID-19 symptoms. In this study, online and partially in-person survey interviews were carried out among Bangladeshi respondents. We selected Bangladeshi COVID-19 patients who were detected Coronavirus positive (+) by RT-PCR nucleic acid test and later recovered. Furthermore, identified plant species from the surveys were thoroughly investigated for safety and efficacy based on the previous ethnomedicinal usage reports. Based on the published data, they were also reviewed for their significant potentialities as antiviral, anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulatory agents. We explored comprehensive information about a total of 26 plant species, belonging to 23 genera and 17 different botanical families, used in COVID-19 treatment as home remedies by the respondents. Most of the plants and plant-derived products were collected directly from the local marketplace. According to our survey results, greatly top 5 cited plant species measured as per the highest RFC value are Camellia sinensis (1.0) > Allium sativum (0.984) > Azadirachta indica (0.966) > Zingiber officinale (0.966) > Syzygium aromaticum (0.943). Previously published ethnomedicinal usage reports, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulatory activity of the concerned plant species also support our results. Thus, the survey and review analysis simultaneously reveals that these reported plants and plant-derived products might be promising candidates for the treatment of COVID-19. Moreover, this study clarifies the reported plants for their safety during COVID-19 management and thereby supporting them to include in any future pre-clinical and clinical investigation for developing herbal COVID-19 therapeutics.

Keywords: BAL, Bronchoalveolar lavage; BALF, Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid; Bangladesh; CHO-K1, Wild-type Chinese hamster ovary CHO-K1 cells; CIK, Ctenopharyngodon idellus kidney Cell line; COPD, Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; COVID-19; CRD, Complex chronic respiratory disease; CRFK, Crandell-Reese feline kidney cells; EGCG, Epigallocatechin-3-gallate; EPO, Eosinophil peroxidase; Ethnobotany; FRhk-4cells, Fetal rhesus monkey kidney cells; H1N1, Hemagglutinin Type 1 and Neuraminidase Type 1; HEK293T, Human embryonic kidney cells; HEp-2 cells, Epithelial cells of human larynx carcinoma; HLAC, Human lymphoid aggregate cultures; HeLa, Human epithelial cervical carcinoma cell lines; Huh-7, Human hepatocyte-derived carcinoma cell line; IBD, Inflammatory bowel disease; ICU, Intensive care unit; IFN‐γ, Interferon‐gamma; IL, Interleukin; IgE, Immunoglobulin E; MARC-145 cells, African green monkey kidney cell line; MCP-1, Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1; MDCK, Madin-Darby Canine Kidney cell lines; MEF, Mouse embryonic fibroblast cells; Medicinal plants; NF-κB, Nuclear factor-kappaB; PBMCs, Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells; RT-PCR, Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction; SARS, Severe acute respiratory syndrome, MERS, Middle East respiratory syndrome; TNF-β, Tumor necrosis factor‐beta; TNF‐α, Tumor necrosis factor‐alpha; Th, T-helper; Traditional home remedies; VERO cell lines, African green monkey kidney cell lines.

Graphical abstract

Fig. 1

Socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents (n = 436).

Fig. 2

Habit-wise analysis of plant species.

Fig. 3

Distribution of plant species per botanical family.

Fig. 4

Percentage of plant parts used.

Fig. 5

Mode of preparation.

Fig. 6

Mode of administration.

Fig. 7

Plant species with Relative Citation Frequency (RFC).

Fig. 8

Radar diagram showing the top10 ranked plant species according to RFC value.

Fig. 9

Past ethnomedicinal use reports of the studied plant species.

Fig. 10

Pyramidal peak diagram of the activity of plant species studied against different types of viruses (data generated from previously published articles).

Fig. 11

Published pharmacological reports on the anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory activities of the reported plant species.