Anti-coronavirus and antiviral activity of medicinal plants

Abstract

Viral infections are a major global public health concern. The Covid-19 pandemic is among the viral eruptions that have posed a daunting challenge to the worldwide healthcare systems. This pandemic has led to considerable casualties, economic impact, and considerably affected the lifestyles of human beings in general. This has brought the attention and focus of world scientists and researchers to explore the vaccination and cure. Here it is important to note that currently the mostly available and tested medical options are from the allopathic medications. However, the allopathic medication receives criticism due to the serious side effects it poses along with the beneficial aspects. Therefore, a comprehensive review of the medicinal plants that can potentially treat viral infections is mandatory. Accordingly, this chapter focuses on the ethno botanical knowledge of medicinal plants conventionally applied for the treatment of various viral diseases including Covid-19. There are numerous ways of treatment of viral diseases, and treatment by using the medicinal plant is an ancient method and can be improved by developing drug delivery systems in these perspectives. Medicinal plants contain natural products with microbial activities, but mostly these products exhibit a high potential via synergistic effect, but in these compounds, one or two compounds show preferred antiviral activity. During the Covid-19 pandemic, many tribal communities in different countries used medicinal plants as a possible treatment. This emphasizes the importance of medicinal plants for not only Covid-19 but also for other viral infections. © 2023 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston. All rights reserved.