A team of National Research Institute of Chinese Medicine researchers yesterday said that they have developed a prescription of traditional Chinese medicine to treat mild cases of COVID-19 and plan to sell it overseas.
The prescription includes the dried root of Scutellaria baicalensis, or Chinese skullcap, and Houttuynia cordata, also known as fish mint, and could be available in Europe and the US as early as next month, the team said.
The researchers said they have signed a non-exclusive license with a manufacturer in Taiwan and is in the process of obtaining a permit to export the medicine.
Led by institute director Su Yi-chang (蘇奕彰), the team has devised four prescriptions to treat COVID-19 — one each for mild, moderate and severe cases, as well as one that helps those in the recovery stage of the disease.
They plan to export only the prescription to treat mild cases, because a majority of patients worldwide fall under this category, the researchers said.
The prescriptions, when used in combination with Western medicine, have been effective in stabilizing the heart rate and blood pressure of COVID-19 patients, as well as alleviating their fever, Su said.
The prescription’s ingredients have also been found to effectively bind with spike proteins on the surface of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, he said.
This can prevent the spike proteins from attaching to cell receptors, preventing the virus from infecting the human body, Su added.
Another benefit is that it helps suppress a cytokine storm, an overreaction of the body’s immune system that can be deadly, and also accelerates recovery and prevents the disease from damaging the lungs, he said. The institute has over the past two months helped treat 21 COVID-19 patients in Taiwan — one severe case, five moderate cases and 15 mild cases — said Huang Yi-chia (黃怡嘉), head of the Chinese medicine department at Tri-Service General Hospital.
All of the patients have since recovered and were released from the hospital, said Huang, who aided in their treatment.
On average, the patients were discharged from the hospital eight days after receiving the treatment, and none have shown any side effects, Huang said.
A husband and wife who had chronic illnesses and were diagnosed with COVID-19 were both treated with a combination of Western and Chinese medicine after quinine, an antimalarial drug, caused heart discomfort in the couple, he said.
They were released from the hospital eight days after beginning the treatment, he added.
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