Yes, there’s a pandemic going on around the world and yet it’s frightening to hear about. I would like to put it into perspective and discuss the research behind using herbal medicine for fighting coronaviruses.

I would like to remind you that the CDC estimates that the influenza virus (aka the flu) has resulted in between 9 million – 45 million illnesses, between 140,000 – 810,000 hospitalizations and between 12,000 – 61,000 deaths every year since 2010 in the US alone. And this is a virus we have a vaccine for!

Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that can infect many different animal species, including camels, cattle, and bats. A new strain of coronavirus has been identified as the cause of the outbreak of respiratory illness in people first detected in Wuhan, China. On February 11, 2020 the World Health Organization named the disease COVID-19. (Formerly, it was referred to as 2019-nCoV.) What makes this virus unique is that rarely do animal coronaviruses jump species and infect people. Past coronaviruses with this similar pattern are the MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV which some of you may remember from the outbreak in 2002-2003. 

There is a lot of media hype about alternative treatments not being effective to treat or prevent the coronavirus, and yet its true the new strain of coronavirus, COVID-19, has not been thoroughly researched regarding herbal therapies. There are however many studies showing the medicinal effects of herbs against other coronaviruses. Let’s talk about those. 

In November 2019, a study published in the journal Virus Research showed that elderberry (Sambucas nigra) extract significantly inhibited the replication of the human coronavirus strain NL63 (HCoV-NL63). Elderberry specifically blocked the coronavirus attachment and therefore was concluded to have strong antiviral potential against this strain of coronavirus. 

In January 2014, another study showed that elderberry (Sambucas nigra) extract can inhibit coronavirus when taken at the early stages of the infection unlike extracts of Rhodiola rosea or Nigella sativa.

In October 2011, a study published in the Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine showed that herbal extracts of scythian lamb (Cibotium barometz), gentian root (Gentiana scabra), chinese or wild yam (Dioscorea batatas), wild senna (Cassia tora), and chinese mistletoe (Taxillus chinensis) inhibited the replication of the virulent severe acute respiratory syndrome associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV). 

Lastly, a study published in the Journal of Integrative Medicine in February 2020 indicated that herbal medical treatments classically used for treating viral respiratory infections might contain direct anti-2019-nCoV (aka COVID-19) compounds. Thirteen herbal compounds were found to have antiviral effects specifically against the COVID-19 strain, and 125 herbs were found to contain 2 or more of these 13 compounds. Proving that natural plant compounds may be powerful tools in fighting against these virulent virus strains and more research needs to be done.

It is unfortunate that the media is quick to disregard these plant extracts as potentially effective strategies in helping to bring this pandemic under control. As an alternative medicine practitioner, I wish there were more research studies and articles published to back up the clinical success stories I see daily using naturopathic therapies like herbal medicine. Unfortunately, there is not much funding for these types of research studies.

References

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/index.html

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31560964

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24433341

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24716104

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32113846

About the author

Since 2005, Dr Fey has helped women, men, and children find real solutions to their health concerns. She truly believes that giving the proper care and nutrients your body has an amazing ability to heal. She is committed to finding the root cause of illness by utilizing a whole body approach not just focusing solely on presenting symptoms. With her scientific background, Dr Fey uses science based natural approaches to treating disease.

Dr. Amanda Fey is the owner and practicing Naturopathic Doctor at Complementary Medicine & Healing Arts, the Southern Tiers Center for Natural Healthcare located in the Binghamton NY area. The office website is www.naturallywell.us. To contact the office call 607-729-0591 or email cmhahealth@gmail.com.