Affiliation:
1. Department of Medicine, Sidney Kimmel Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA 19107, United States.
Abstract
The global corona virus disease outbreak, also known as the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, caused a major health crisis around the world. The morbidity and mode of transmission of COVID-19 appear to be more severe and uncontrollable. The main pathophysiology of this deadly disease is respiratory failure and subsequent cardiovascular complications. From a pharmacological standpoint, several therapeutic strategies have been proposed for the development of safe and effective treatment against the SARS-CoV-2 virus, but no specific treatment regimen has been developed for this viral infection to date. The current review focuses on the role of herbs and herbs-derived secondary metabolites in inhibiting the SARS-CoV-2 virus as well as in the management of post-COVID-19 complications. This strategy will promote and protect the use of medicinal plant resources to support the healthcare system. Plant-derived phytochemicals have already been shown to prevent viral infection and to alleviate post-COVID complications such as parkinsonism, kidney and heart failure, liver and lung damage, and mental problems. We investigated mechanistic approaches of herbal medicines and their phytochemicals as antiviral and post-COVID complications by modulating immunological and inflammatory states in this review.