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.