Abstract
Background: Since the beginning of medical history, plants have been exemplary sources of a variety of pharmacological compounds that are still used in modern medication. Respiratory infections are a serious and persistent global health problem, most acute and chronic respiratory infections are caused by viruses, whose ability to mutate rapidly may result in epidemics and pandemics, as seen recently with MERS-COV (2012) and SARS-COV-2 (2019), the latter causing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Methods: This study aims to highlight the tremendous benefits of plants that have been widely used as dietary supplements or traditional treatment for various respiratory infections, with a focus on the most effective constituents and studies that revealed their activities against COVID-19.
Results: Several traditional plants and their phytoconstituents have shown activity against respiratory viruses, including SARS-COV-2. The presented plants are Nigella sativa, Punica granatum, Panax ginseng, Withania somnifera, Glycyrrhiza glabra, Curcuma longa, Zingiber officinale, Camellia sinensis, Echinacea purpurea, Strobilanthes cusia, Stephania tetrandra, and genus Sambucus.
Conclusion: The data discussed in this review can encourage carrying out in-vivo studies that may help in the discovery of herbal leads that can be feasibly used to alleviate, prevent or treat COVID-19 infection.