The great scramble for COVID-19 vaccines, with unequal access for the less wealthy nations, has propelled a great many Asians to turn toward their indigenous health systems for protection and relief from the virus.
The dismally slow rate of vaccine roll-outs across the regionand the developing world galvanized alternative health care practitioners and scientists to test the efficacy of local herbs with anti-viral potential. It was a move warmly welcomed by large sections of the general public, especially the many millions who still have more trust in traditional, rather than Western, medicine.
By the end of 2020 pharmacies in Thailand were overwhelmed by customers stocking up on well-known anti-viral Fa Talai Jone (Andrographis paniculata), also known as Green Chireta, commonly used for colds and influenza.
U.K.’s Boots chain of pharmacies happily displayed in its Thai branches bottles of another herb, Krachai Chao (Boesenbergia rotunda or finger-root, a member of the ginger family). Commonly used in Thai cuisine, it was suddenly elevated from an ingredient in Thai and Burmese curries to the status of a “Wonder Herb” that could treat COVID-19.
In Asia, both allopathic medicine (the Western system) and the holistic tradition have been more or less integrated and to a considerable degree harmonized. Both approaches now co-exist inside health ministries. In China, India, Indonesia, South Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam, traditional medicine is highly respected and integrated within their public health services.
In Vietnam associate professor Dr. Le Quang Huan’s research team at the Institute of Biotechnology used bioinformatics technology to screen various herbs in the creation of a nature-based anti-COVID-19 candidate called Vipdervir. A cocktail of different herbs, it has been approved for validation in a clinical trial.
Vietnamese researchers report that traditional medicine can be used in complement with modern medicine for synergistic effects on SARS-related diseases. The Science Direct journal reported Vietnam’s Ministry of Health facilitated the use of herbal medicine for the prevention and complementary treatment of COVID-19.
Post time: Jan-06-2022
