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Review
. 2023 Feb 16:14:1098253.
doi: 10.3389/fphar.2023.1098253. eCollection 2023.

Traditional Tibetan medicine to fight against COVID-19: Basic theory and therapeutic drugs

Kun Zhang  1 , Lijie Wang  2 , Jiayan Peng  2 , Kangzhuo Sangji  1 , Yuting Luo  2 , Yujiao Zeng  2 , Yongzhong Zeweng  1 , Gang Fan  1   2
Affiliations
Review

Traditional Tibetan medicine to fight against COVID-19: Basic theory and therapeutic drugs

Kun Zhang et al. Front Pharmacol. .

Abstract

The Coronavirus Diseases 2019 (COVID-19) has been rapidly spreading globally and has caused severe harm to the health of people and a substantial social burden. In response to this situation, experts around the world have considered various treatments, including the use of traditional medicine. Traditional Tibetan medicine (TTM), one of the traditional medicines in China, has played an important role in the treatment of infectious diseases in history. It has formed a solid theoretical foundation and accumulated rich experience in the treatment of infectious diseases. In this review, we provide a comprehensive introduction to the basic theory, treatment strategies, and commonly used drugs of TTM for the treatment of COVID-19. In addition, the efficacies and potential mechanisms of these TTM drugs against COVID-19 are discussed based on available experimental data. This review may provide important information for the basic research, clinical application and drug development of traditional medicines for the treatment of COVID-19 or other infectious diseases. More pharmacological studies are needed to reveal the therapeutic mechanisms and active ingredients of TTM drugs in the treatment of COVID-19.

Keywords: COVID-19; basic theory; herbal medicine; therapeutic drug; traditional Tibetan medicine.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Understanding the pathogeny of COVID-19 in TTM theory. Due to the influence of diet, behavior, season, and evil-qi, “Babada” (similar to infectious microorganisms; here it refers to SARS-CoV-2) invades the human body. This causes the disorders of “Loong,” “Tripa,” and “Baekan,” which further leads to the abnormality of seven essences and three excrements. Subsequently, these changes gradually affect the lungs, stomach and intestines, causing symptoms such as cough, fever, diarrhea, and vomiting.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
The most commonly used TTM drugs for the prevention and treatment of different stages of COVID-19.
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
The drug-herb-ingredient-target-function network of frequently used herbs in recommended prescriptions and their main ingredients, as well as their key targets and functions for COVID-19.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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