[Study on medication regularity of traditional Chinese medicine in treatment of COVID-19 based on data mining]

Zheng Zhou1, Chun-Sheng Zhu1, Bing Zhang2

  • 1The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University Zhengzhou 450000, China.

Insights

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) offers effective COVID-19 treatments by analyzing 96 prescriptions. Key findings reveal common properties, tastes, and meridians, identifying high-frequency herbs and combinations for strengthening resistance and eliminating pathogens.

Area of Science:

  • Integrative Medicine
  • Pharmacology
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) rapidly emerged as a global health threat with no specific antiviral treatments.
  • Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has demonstrated a positive role in managing COVID-19 symptoms and outcomes.
  • The study addresses the need for evidence-based TCM strategies against COVID-19.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To analyze and identify effective traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) prescriptions for COVID-19.
  • To determine the association rules and frequency of single drugs and drug combinations in COVID-19 TCM treatments.
  • To establish core herbal combinations and propose new prescriptions based on data analysis.

Main Methods:

  • Collected and sorted 96 effective COVID-19 TCM prescriptions from national and provincial sources, and online databases (CNKI, WanFang, VIP).
  • Utilized the inheritance of traditional Chinese medicine auxiliary V2.5 and complex system entropy clustering method.
  • Analyzed medicinal properties (temperature, taste, meridians) and drug/combination frequencies.

Main Results:

  • Prescriptions predominantly featured herbs with warm/cold properties, bitter/hot/sweet tastes, and targeted the Lung, Stomach, and Spleen meridians.
  • High-frequency single herbs included Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma, Armeniacae Semen Amarum, and Gypsum Fibrosum.
  • Identified core combinations such as Gypsum Fibrosum-Armeniacae Semen Amarum and Lepidii Semen-Armeniacae Semen Amarum-Gypsum Fibrosum.

Conclusions:

  • TCM treatment for COVID-19 focuses on strengthening the body's resistance and eliminating pathogenic factors.
  • The analysis identified key herbal components and combinations for effective COVID-19 management.
  • Proposed new prescriptions based on high-frequency herbs and combinations offer potential therapeutic strategies.

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