Traditional Medicines Guidelines for COVID 19: A Review

Abstract

Background: Since the beginning of time, humanity has experienced severe natural disasters on occasion. At the end of 2019, a novel coronavirus identified as 2019-nCoV; and later known as SARS CoV 2 was emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan, in the province of Hubei. The world faced global health emergency because of no any definitive treatment of COVID-19 in any healthcare systems of the world. In this health crisis, academic knowledge holders of traditional medical healing practices in the global specially in Africa and Asia; prepared preventive, promotive and post recovery guidelines; and curative management protocol and endorsed by authorities of respective countries.   

Materials and Methods: The online published guidelines and literatures regarding COVID 19 were searched on google scholar, PubMed, Scopus, DOAJ, ScienceDirect, Henari, Web of Science using key words such as COVID 19, guidelines, management protocol, Traditional Medicines, Ayurveda, Naturopathy, Homeopathy, Yoga, Sidhha, Unani, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Complementary and Alternative Medicines (CAM). The websites of Ministry of Health and their health departments of the countries used traditional medicines for prevention and control of COVID 19. The literatures or guidelines mentioning immune enhancer, single drugs, prevention, diagnosis and treatment; and polyherbal formulations were entertained for analysis and presentation in this review.  

Results and Discussion: These guidelines emphasize the importance of identifying best practice to manage COVID 19 applying appropriate and rigorous evidences from classical literatures as well as scientific publications on the procedures and medication of the literatures in recent era.  

Conclusions: The guidelines of traditional medicines for COVID-19 were found to be safe and effective to mitigate and control spread of Corona virus; and recommended medications were also effective in symptomatic relief from the infection.