Title:Alternative Medicine as a Treatment Option for COVID-19
Volume: 7
Issue: 4
Author(s): Mahfuza Marzan, Md. Shahedur Rahman, Md. Abu Hena Mostofa Jamal, Mohammad Hossain Shariare and Md. Anowar Khasru Parvez*
Affiliation:
- Department of Microbiology, Jahangirnagar University, Savar, Dhaka,Bangladesh
Keywords:
COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, coronavirus, alternative medicine, treatment options.
Abstract: COVID-19, a viral disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, is the reason for a global pandemic
since the starting of the year 2020. The characteristics of the disease vary from mild common coldlike
symptoms to acute respiratory distress syndrome and multi-organ failure leading to death. The
world has already observed 213,453 deaths from this disease while 3,095,839 have been infected in
210 countries in total, till 28 April 2020. This disease has had a devastating impact on the health
care system because of its high infectivity, easy mode of transmission, lack of proper medicine and
vaccine, and deficiency of effectively supportive healthcare arrangement. On the verge of this situation,
scientists are searching for treatment options. However, nature has provided us with a large
number of herbs, which have disease preventive, as well as have medicinal properties. In this article,
we have reviewed several of these plants (ginger, clove, tea, black seed, tulsi, neem), some vitamins
(vitamin C and vitamin D) and zinc, which have antiviral, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and
anti-asthmatic properties with scientific evidence. The intake of these products regularly to keep
the immune system active and to experience its positive aspects, might be supportive to prevent infection
with the new coronavirus or to treat COVID-19.