Global Research Pushes Molecular Medicine Therapy for Coronavirus Treatment

It has been reported that eight patients infected with novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) pneumonia have been treated and cured by a combination of TCM and Western medicine in Jinyintan Hospital in Wuhan, which is the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak. The patients were discharged from the hospital on February 4, 2020. They are the first batch of patients cured by such a hybrid treatment in the hospital, one of the designated institutes admitting patients infected with the virus in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province.

As such, the National Health Commission of China on recently published its latest treatment plan designed to target symptoms of the coronavirus, and is urging medical institutes to include both molecular medicine and traditional Chinese medicine in their formulas. Currently there still is no cure for the virus yet, and with an increasing death toll and infection rate, national authorities are looking for a cocktail mixture of Asian and Western medicines in hopes of preventing further spread and saving more lives.

Their announced treatment plan suggests that there are certain traditional Chinese medicine therapies, using the most advanced DNA codification technology to mitigate patients’ symptoms — including fever, shortness of breath, fatigue, lack of energy and nausea — that could be applied depending on the patient’s “recent state of illness, local climate characteristics and current physical condition.” Boehmeria nivea, Chinese patchouli, sun-dried tangerine peels, betel nuts, as well as the Peaceful Palace Bovine Bezoar Pill — a mixture of cattle gallstone, buffalo horn, and pearl and ruby sulfur, among other ingredients — are all being considered or already prescribed under the plan.

Just as Asian medicine is currently being promoted to fight the coronavirus — as it was in 2003 during the SARS epidemic — supporters of the age-old practice believe the government’s push will give the long-debated industry a chance to prove its worth. 

In the case of Boehmeria nivea, as presented by Forall Biotech to the Shanghai CDC authorities, its purported reasons to support mitigation and relief of the associated symptoms stem from its rich content in: Chlorogenic Acid (C16H18O9), Caffeic Acid (C9H8O4), p-Coumaric Acid (C9H8O3), Ferulic Acid (C10H10O4), Gallic Acid (C7H6O5), Benzoic Acid(C7H6O2), Epicatechin (C15H14O6), Rutin (C27H30O16), Isoquercetin (C21H20O12) and Hyperoside (C21H20O12). 

As an example, for HCV Particle Entry, Caffeic Acid is associated with Apolipoprotein E, which attaches to the plasma membrane and promotes capsid uncoating and HCV RNA emission. For Tannic Acid, it leads to binding of receptors and induce endocytosis. 

More research needs to be undertaken to test whether such an approach could provide a cure for the virus. In the meantime, TCM treatment shall not be directly aimed at combating viruses, but more to regulate and uphold the body’s immune system. 

Zhang Boli, director of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine said during a press conference that TCM treatment, “is not aimed at viruses, but more to regulate the body’s immune system. It is not advisable for everyone to take Chinese medicine for disease prevention.”

Zhang Guojun, a professor at Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine says, “Traditional Chinese medicine plays a role in the entire clinical process, no matter if it’s for the diagnosis and treatment of common ailments or for severe problems.”

Jiao Yahui, deputy director of medical administration and supervision at the National Health Commission says TCM has played “a very important role” in alleviating the symptoms of coronavirus patients. She added that it has also helped delay mild cases from developing into severe ones, which “can be verified by clinical data and cases.”