Editorial Volume 7 Issue 1
110th Zonal Tuberculosis and Chest Disease Center, Thailand
2Faculty of Public Health, St. Theresa International College, Thailand
3Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Thailand
Correspondence: Attapon Cheepsattayakorn, 10th Zonal Tuberculosis and Chest Disease Center, 143 Sridornchai Road Changklan Muang Chiang Mai 50100, Thailand
Received: April 12, 2020 | Published: March 31, 2020
Citation: Cheepsattayakorn A, Cheepsattayakorn R. Andrographis paniculata (Green chiretta) may combat COVID-19. J Lung Pulm Respir Res. 2020;7(2):26. DOI: 10.15406/jlprr.2020.07.00224
isolated, naturalized, medicine, properties, antioxidant
HIV, human immunodeficiency-virus infection; AIDS, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome; COVID-19, corona virus disease 2019
Andrographis paniculata (Figure 1), known as “Indian echinacea” is an herb used in traditional Chinese medicine and ayurveda. Andrographis paniculata is native to India and Sri Lanka but is naturalized in many tropical countries, such as Thailand, Malaysia, Java, and Borneo where it grows isolated patches on roadside, near drain, in between wall cracks, lowlands, hillside, coastlines, and other cultivated or disturbed areas, such as wastelands. It is a bitter-tasting herb rich in compounds known as andrographolides that is hypothesized to have antiviral, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties. This herb is said to act as a natural immune-booster. Andrographis paniculata is most widely used to treat cold and flu symptoms and is also used to treat other diseases and symptoms, such as human immunodeficiency-virus infection (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), infections, parasitic infestations, sinus infections, cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, hepatic problems, cardiac diseases, anorexia, allergies, ulcers, and skin diseases. Nevertheless, there is not enough scientific evidence to support the use of Andrographis paniculata for most of these health benefits. Some preliminary studies demonstrated that Andrographis paniculata may offer the health benefits, such as upper respiratory tract infections and ulcerative colitis.
Andrographis paniculata may trigger adverse side effects like fatigue, headache, nausea, diarrhea, and allergic reaction. Andrographis paniculata should not be administered intravenously due to possible acute renal injury. Individuals using some medications, such as anti-hypertensive medicines, chemotherapy drugs, blood-thinning drugs, etc. should consult a clinician before using Andrographis paniculata. Little is known about the safety of using Andrographis paniculata. There is no single recommended dose of Andrographis paniculata due to various dose studies. Some previous studies revealed that for relief of sore throat, a dose of 3-6grams Andrographis paniculata was used once a day. For ulcerative colitis, Andrographis paniculata extract, 1,200-1,800milligrams was used once a day for eight weeks. For common cold, a combination product (4-5.6milligrams Andrographolide and 400milligrams Siberian ginseng) was used three times daily, whereas another previous study demonstrated using Andrographis extract (KalmCold) 200milligrams once a day for 5days. Recently, some Asian countries claimed that Andrographis paniculata may kill the COVID-19 and they will initiate studies on this issue in 2020 as soon as possible.
In conclusion, in vitro and in vivo studies are needed before beginning the clinical trials on killing effects of Andrographis paniculata on COVID-19 for clinical safety and its efficacy in patients with COVID-19 infection.
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The authors declare there are no conflicts of interest.
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©2020 Cheepsattayakorn, et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and build upon your work non-commercially.