IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v18y2021i22p12001-d679853.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Role of Herbal and Nutritional Treatments in the Fight against COVID-19 and Other Respiratory Tract Infections

Author

Listed:
  • Aline El Zakhem

    (Division of Infectious Diseases, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Beirut 1107, Lebanon
    Equal contribution.)

  • May Annie Chalhoub

    (Department of Natural Sciences, Lebanese American University, Beirut 1102, Lebanon
    Equal contribution.)

  • Maya Bassil

    (Department of Natural Sciences, Lebanese American University, Beirut 1102, Lebanon)

Abstract

With the growing spread of COVID-19 worldwide, the appeal to alternative and nutritional therapies in conjunction with medical therapies has been heightened. This article aims to review studies assessing the roles of Chinese traditional medicine and nutrition in upper respiratory infections, including COVID-19. Various Chinese herbal protocols have been shown to fight respiratory infections, with several having been tested on the novel coronavirus. Additionally, promising findings have been reported when medical treatments were complemented with nutritional interventions. Supplementation with vitamins C and D, Zinc and Selenium are discussed, in addition to certain phytochemicals and food that also possess immunoregulatory and antiviral properties. Further clinical studies are needed to establish these alternative treatments as part of the management of emerging respiratory infections.

Suggested Citation

  • Aline El Zakhem & May Annie Chalhoub & Maya Bassil, 2021. "The Role of Herbal and Nutritional Treatments in the Fight against COVID-19 and Other Respiratory Tract Infections," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(22), pages 1-13, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:22:p:12001-:d:679853
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/22/12001/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/22/12001/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Danielle Vuichard Gysin & Dyda Dao & Christian Michael Gysin & Lyubov Lytvyn & Mark Loeb, 2016. "Effect of Vitamin D3 Supplementation on Respiratory Tract Infections in Healthy Individuals: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(9), pages 1-17, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hai Pham & Aninda Rahman & Azam Majidi & Mary Waterhouse & Rachel E. Neale, 2019. "Acute Respiratory Tract Infection and 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Concentration: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(17), pages 1-15, August.
    2. Raffaele Domenici & Francesco Vierucci, 2022. "Exclusive Breastfeeding and Vitamin D Supplementation: A Positive Synergistic Effect on Prevention of Childhood Infections?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(5), pages 1-29, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:22:p:12001-:d:679853. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.