INTRODUCTION
On the 31st December, 2019, the WHO China Country Office was informed of
the cases about the pneumonia of unknown microbial aetiology associated
with Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China.1 WHO has named
the “coronavirus disease 2019” short for COVID-19.2Seasonal outbreaks of the virus affect nearly 10% of the world
population and may lead up to a million deaths
annually.3 WHO announcements there is no specific
medicine recommended to prevent or treat the new coronavirus COVID-19.
Although the specific medicines are not effective against COVID-19, all
specific medicines against respiratory illnesses are highly recommended
to protect your health.4
The outbreak of COVID-19 worldwide and over centuries history of
antimalarials remind us there are many important medicinal values drugs
and currently used antimalarial drugs are derived from plants.
Artemisinin from the Qinghao plant (Artemisia annua L, China, 4th
century) and quinine from the cinchona tree (South America, 17th
century)5.
The name atropine was coined in the 19th century, when pure extracts
from the belladonna plant Atropa belladonna were first
made6. Berberine is a compound found in several
different plants, including Barberry (Berberis vulgaris), Oregon Grape
(Mahonia aquifolium), Goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis), and Chinese
goldthread (Coptis chinensis). It has a 3000-year history of use in
traditional Chinese and Indian medicine7. Reserpine
was isolated in 1952 from the dried root of Rauvolfia serpentina (Indian
snakeroot)8. Tubocurarine is a naturally occurring
mono-quaternary alkaloid obtained from the bark of the Menispermaceous
South American plant Chondrodendron tomentosum, and it contains highly
toxic alkaloids and is one of the sources of the arrow poison
curare9. Papaver somniferum, commonly known as the
opium poppy or breadseed poppy is a species of flowering plant in the
family Papaveraceae10. ”Breadseed or opium poppy,
Papaver somniferum”. University of Wisconsin Extension, Master Gardener
Program. Retrieved 7 January 201811。12.
Ephedra sinica (also known as Chinese ephedra or Ma Huang) is a plant
species native to Mongolia, Russia (Buryatiya, Chita, Primorye), and
northeastern China (Gansu, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Nei
Mongol, Ningxia, Shaanxi, Shanxi)13. Paclitaxel was
isolated from the bark of the Pacific yew, Taxus brevifolia, hence its
name ”taxol” Paclitaxel (PTX), sold under the brand name Taxol among
others, is a chemotherapy medication used to treat a number of types of
cancer. This includes ovarian cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, Kaposi
sarcoma, cervical cancer, and pancreatic cancer14.
Camptothecin (CPT) is a topoisomerase inhibitor. It was isolated from
the bark and stem of Camptotheca acuminata (Camptotheca, Happy tree), a
tree native to China used as a cancer treatment in Traditional Chinese
Medicine.The stem bark of Mappia foetida, a tree native to India, has
proved to be another source significant for the isolation of
camptothecin15.16. Maitansine (INN), or maytansine
(USAN), is a cytotoxic agent. It inhibits the assembly of microtubules
by binding to tubulin at the rhizoxin binding site. It is a macrolide of
the ansamycin type and can be isolated from plants of the genus
Maytenus17.
For more than 50 years, low-cost antimalarial drugs silently saved
millions of lives and cured billions of debilitating infections.
Although effective new drugs are available, they are unaffordable for
the majority of the affected population, even at a cost of one dollar
per course.5 In 2002, WHO published a monograph which
stated the use of elder flower herbal preparation “as an expectorant
for treatment of the upper respiratory tract
infection”.18 Unfortunately, Chinese National
monography has not recorded the Elderberry for national medicine in
spite of the evidence(Compendium of Materia Medica,1596)suggests that
chemicals in elder flower and the berries may reduce swelling in mucous
membranes such as the sinuses, and help relieve nasal congestion.
Elderberry may have anti-inflammatory, antiviral, and anticancer
properties19.