ISSN 2582-5283
ISSN 2582-5283
Abstract
Jigni Mishra1 and Kshipra Misra1*
Coronaviruses have engendered many instances of widespread epidemics across the globe in the past couple of decades. The severity of diseases caused by coronaviruses is complicated manifold due to their characteristic hypermutations which pose the biggest obstacle in delineating any specific vaccine or drug against these viralstrains. The world at present is battling the ongoing novel coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), caused by SARS-CoV-2 virus. Covid-19 has claimed about 4, 00, 000 lives as of 15 June 2019 since early reports of the outbreak in December 2019. The unavailability of a particular treatment strategy has resulted in a rising trend of active Covid-19 cases and casualties. Such a scenario has motivated the healthcare professionals and general public to adopt a preemptive approach by accentuating overall immunity as well as maintaining personal hygiene and social distancing. The past few months have witnessed increased awareness and acceptance of the age old convention of Ayurveda and traditional medicines for augmentation of immunity and/or subsiding the symptoms against SARS-CoV-2 infection. In line of this, the present review focuses on the importance of various traditional medicinal sources as preventive leads against the pandemic. The sources discussed here include plants namely, Curcuma longa and Hippophae rhamnoides, and medicinal mushrooms i.e., Cordyceps sinensis and Ganoderma lucidum. Evidence- based antiviral properties of extracts and fractions prepared from these traditional medicines, along with their prospective use for immunity enhancement and supportive healthcare in novel coronavirus disease have also been elucidated. Also, the interplay between Covid-19 and hypoxia-induced ailments of lungs have been elaborated for exploring the usage of aforesaid traditional medicinal sources, as prophylactics against the currentpandemic.
Covid-19
preventive medicine
prophylactic
SARS-CoV-2
traditional medicinal system