Open Access

REVIEW

Indian medicinal plants are effective in the treatment and management of COVID-19

SUBHASH CHANDRA^1,2, SANTWANA PALAI³, EDINARDO FAGNER FERREIRA-MATIAS⁴, IVO CAVALCANTE PITA-NETO⁴, CíCERO LUCAS GOMES-RAMALHO⁴, EDLANE MARTINS DE ANDRADE⁴, RAY SILVA DE ALMEIDA⁵, MARCELLO IRITI^6,7,*, HENRIQUE DOUGLAS MELO-COUTINHO^5,*

1 Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, SGRR University, Uttarakhand, 248001, India
2 Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, HNB Garhwal University, Srinagar, 246174, India
3 Department of Veterinary Pharmacology & Toxicology, College of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry, Bhubaneswar, 751003, India
4 CECAPE—College of Dentistry, Juazeiro do Norte, 63050-203, Brazil
5 Department of Biological Chemistry, Regional University of Cariri, Crato, 63105-000, Brazil
6 Department of Biomedical, Surgical and Dental Sciences, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, 20133, Italy
7 National Interuniversity Consortium of Materials Science and Technology, Florence, 50121, Italy

* Corresponding Authors: MARCELLO IRITI. Email: ; HENRIQUE DOUGLAS MELO-COUTINHO. Email:

(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Antimicrobial Resistance: From Basic Science to Applied Approaches)

BIOCELL 2023, 47(4), 677-695. https://doi.org/10.32604/biocell.2023.026081

Received 15 August 2022; Accepted 23 November 2022; Issue published 08 March 2023

Abstract

Indian medicinal plants are referred to as the “nectar of life” owing to their phytochemicals and bioactive complexes that are beneficial in treating diseases. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a global health issue without any proper medication. The indigenous plants of India can be exploited to control the precise signs of SARS-CoV-2. The Ministry of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy) has advised routine usage of medicinal plants for COVID-19. Medicinal plants like Zingiber officinalis, Azadirachta indica, Ocimum sanctum, Nigella sativa, Withania somnifera, Curcuma longa, Piper nigrum, Allium sativum, Tinospora cordifolia, etc. have immunity-boosting, antiviral, antibacterial, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory actions that can suppress and treat symptoms of COVID-19. In vitro, in vivo as well as in silico validation, these phytochemicals can help us to manage and treat COVID-19 disease. This integration of traditional knowledge in the prophylaxis of corona infection and current skills validating it for the development of precise and powerful therapeutic approaches will more efficiently resolve different clinical aspects of COVID-19. The review focuses on both traditional and emergent methods to prevent and treat COVID-19 with various Indian medicinal plants along with their phytochemicals.

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