Page 33 - IMCJ April 2020

Department of Public Health urges that: rich foods (minus the coffee and wine, perhaps…).
[PLEASE NOTE: I have been asked where people can find
If a person develops symptoms in COVID-19 including Sambucus Formosana Nakai, and unfortunately, as far as I
fever, cough or shortness of breath, and has reason to can tell it is not available commercially. I included this
believe they may have been exposed, they information for research purposes, and do not know if
should call their health care provider or local health Sambucus nigra would have similar effects.]
department before seeking care. Contacting them in Traditional Chinese Medicines have been met with
advance will make sure that people can get the care they significant controversy and panic stockpiling when
need without putting others at risk. Chinese researchers claimed that a traditional herbal
formula (shuanghuanglian made with honeysuckle,
How do you treat COVID-19? Chinese skullcap and forsythia) could inhibit 2019-nCoV
There are currently NO specific antiviral medications in vitro. This was a premature announcement and clinical
known to treat COVID-19, Treatment is supportive with trials need to be performed. However, if we look to prior
rest, fluids, oxygen, and more intensive care if needed. research on other coronaviruses, there are studies showing
Scientists are actively researching possible existing or new the efficacy of various Chinese herbal agents against other
antiviral medications that may have activity against coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV and CHOV-22E9.
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COVID-19, and vaccines that may help to prevent These herbal medicines include: Bupleurum,
COVID-19. Tamiflu will not work. While these efforts are Heteromorpha, and Scrophularia scorodonia ; Lycoris
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critically needed, the manufacture and testing of a new radiata, Artemisia annua, Pyrrosia lingua, and Lindera
pharmaceutical agents or vaccines is likely several months aggregata ; Isatis indigotica and Torreya mucifera 13,14,15 ;
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to over a year in coming. and Houttuynia cordata. My hope is that researchers
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In the meantime, are there any existing natural take interest in these initial in-vitro results and consider
treatments that might work? We just don’t know. A huge clinical trials that could potentially find a cure in these
amount of funding has been committed to clinical natural agents.
treatment trials. While we wait anxiously for results, I urge
scientists and researchers to consider some of the evidence COVID-19, sepsis & cytokine storm
we currently have about natural treatments for prior When patients with COVID-19 die, it is often due to
coronavirus outbreaks (SARS, MERS) and sepsis that sepsis, in which the immune system goes haywire and
may theoretically hold promise for successfully treating overreacts in what is called a “cytokine storm.” Natural
COVID-19, and would be more readily available and agents that are immunomodulatory and immunoregulatory,
much less costly than any newly-engineered drug. and bring BALANCE to an overactive immune system,
I am here to educate and inform, NOT to recommend may be one of the best options to support patients with
any particular treatments because we simply do not yet sepsis. Here’s what the literature shows for what may be
know what will be effective against COVID-19. I did this helpful for critically ill patients with sepsis.. In life-or-
research out of an effort to educate myself on all possible death critical situations like sepsis where conventional
therapeutic options if/when COVID-19 arrives. Here is medicine does not offer significant success, I would urge
what I found. These are theoretical possibilities only. researchers to consider all potential treatment options for
Please do not stockpile these natural medicines. If you further investigation.
suspect you or your child has COVID-19, please consult Vitamin C, 1.5 grams IV every 6 hours (6 grams total
with your physician on your best treatment options. daily), given with hydrocortisone and thiamine was found
Sambucus Formosana Nakai (a species of elderberry to significantly decrease mortality and prevent progressive
similar to Sambucus nigra or black elderberry that has organ failure in patients with sepsis. In fact, patients
been found to have anti-influenza activity) was found to treated with the vitamin C protocol had an 8.5% death rate
have strong activity against Human coronavirus NL63 compared with 40.4% in the control group! Thankfully,
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(HCoV-NL63). NOTE: This is NOT the same as the there is currently a research trial underway to investigate
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elderberry syrup you’ll find on shelves, and I am not vitamin C infusions for the treatment of severe 2019-
recommending that you go out and stockpile Sambucus nCoV infected pneumonia where patients in the
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Nigra). The caffeic acid component of Sambucus Formosana treatment group will receive 24 grams of Vitamin C daily
Nakai seemed to be responsible for most of the anti- for 7 days.
HCoV-NL63 activity, and significantly inhibited Vitamin D has been called a “pro-survival molecule.”
replication and blocked attachment of HCoV-NL63. In this review of the literature on Vitamin D and
Caffeic acid is actually NOT related to caffeine, but is immunity, the authors conclude that: “… vitamin D not
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found in many foods such as coffee, wine, turmeric, basil, only helps the immune system to be dampened during an
thyme, oregano, sage, cabbage, apples, strawberries, excessive or chronic reaction (anti-inflammatory
cauliflower, radishes, mushrooms, kale, pears, and olive potential) but also to rapidly reach its completion or
oil. It definitely couldn’t hurt to load up on caffeic acid- exhaustion, helping innate cells to kill bacteria or viruses.

Song—Coronavirus Pediatrician's Perspective Integrative Medicine • Vol. 19, No. 2 • April 2020 31