A Possible Synergistic Herbal Solution for COVID-19.

Area of Science:

• Natural product chemistry
• Virology
• Drug discovery

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic necessitates novel antiviral therapies.
• Drug repurposing, especially of natural products, offers a promising avenue.
• Existing treatments face challenges like multidrug resistance and high costs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To repurpose a complex, 41-component herbal tincture for potential anti-COVID-19 activity.
• To investigate the preservation of antiviral potency and synergy in a large natural product combination.
• To propose in vitro methods for evaluating the formula's efficacy and age-related potency changes.

Main Methods:

• Preparation of a 41-component herbal formula from 36 plants and mushrooms.
• Development of a multi-sample in vitro testing protocol using green monkey kidney Vero cells.
• Consideration of methods to assess age-related changes in formula potency.

Main Results:

• A novel 41-component herbal formula was created by repurposing oncology tinctures.
• A hypothesis was formulated regarding the preservation of antiviral potency and synergy in this complex mixture.
• Proposed in vitro methods aim to validate the formula's efficacy and synergistic potential.

Conclusions:

• The 41-component herbal formula presents a potential natural product-based strategy against COVID-19.
• In vitro testing is crucial to validate the hypothesis of preserved potency and synergy.
• Further research is warranted to explore this complex natural product for antiviral applications.