Plants used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for the treatment of Covid-19 in 2020: A synoptic review

Since December 2019, the world has experienced an unprecedented pandemic due to COVID-19 viral infection, but little information has been reported on the plants that have contributed to its management. In this study, we report on medicinal plants used in China to combat this pandemic, some of which may be found in Congolese traditional medicine. The compilation of different articles reported in different search engines made it possible to collect different information on the medicinal plants used during this crisis in China. 45 plants were listed in 9 recipes. These plants, most of which are Asteraceae and of which Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch (Fabaceae) [Jing Jie or (Zhi) Gan Cao] is the most cited, are used at several stages of covid-19 and have several pharmacological activities, the most frequent of which are anti-inflammatory (71%), antioxidant (55.6%) and immunomodulatory (33.3%). This study shows that several plants used in traditional Chinese medicine have made it possible to manage covid-19 in China and show serious indications of subsequent anti-covid-19 therapeutic potential. This Chinese experience should inspire other non-conventional medicines in the fight against new pathologies.