Animals commonly use plants as medicine and even predators, whilst sick, eat grass and seeds of different plants.
Plants have an anti-parasitic effects, laxative effects and help neutralize toxins. Plants also have a wide range of substances that have antibacterial and antiviral effects.
Compared with synthetic drugs, the human immune system does not naturally develop resistance to these compounds.
The World Health Organisation estimates that around 80% of the world's population use medicinal plants to maintain their health.
People have been using plants for medicinal purposes for a very long time however we don't rely on the knowledge of our ancestors anymore, and we look for more scientific evidence of the effectiveness of herbal medicine.
Recently, the effectiveness of the antiviral effects of herbs has become a particularly interesting topic, and we would like to highlight some of the most important scientific developments in this area.
The antiviral impact of plants is based on the presence of polyphenolic compounds, especially flavonoids. There are about 6,000 names for this class of substances and the combination of these substances has a stronger effect than each of them separately. For example, an extract of the black elderberry (Sambucus nigra) fruit is very effective on the flu virus, which has been confirmed in clinical trials and by the US Food and Drug Administration. Moreover, black elderberry extract significantly strengthens the immune system.
The extract of apple pomace has an antiviral effect as well, and interestingly, apple cider vinegar has antiviral properties.
Rosehip, mint, and oregano, as well as lemon balm, are commonly used in the treatment of influenza in Southeast Asia.
Of course, of major interest to us is the topic of the antiviral action of herbal medicine in the treatment of coronavirus. There is active research on wormwood, licorice, Gymnema sylvestris, ginger, astragalus, black elderberry and other plants. Wormwood is generally accepted as a particularly useful herb against the hepatitis B virus and COVID 19. Most scientists conclude that there is good reason for using herbal supplements as an adjuvant therapy for viral infections.
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