Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has recently become a public health concern worldwide. The use of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) may have substantial impact on COVID-19. In this review, we summarize the disease pathogenesis, clinical outcomes, and current applications of TCM for the treatment of COVID-19.

The pathogenesis and clinical symptoms related to severe respiratory disease were described many years ago in TCM texts. The ancient book of TCM Huang Di Nei Jing (Inner Canon of Huangdi) was written during the Western Han Dynasty of China (dated approximately 99 B.C.E.-26 B.C.E.); the text recorded a plague that could transmit disease from human-to-human with symptoms that were similar to those described for COVID-19. Three additional texts, notably Shang Han Za Bing Lun (Treatise on Cold Damage Diseases) written by Zhang Zhongjing (200 C.E.-210 C.E.), Wen Yi Lun (Theory of Plague) and Wen Re Lun (Translated Theory of Warm) written by Wu Youke (1642 C.E.), recorded therapies and formulas that were effective at treating infectious diseases; among them, the classical prescription Da Yuan Yin and the use of human variolation were considered as means to prevent smallpox. Currently, the use of TCM has resulted in remarkable improvement and alleviation of symptoms in COVID-19 patients.

Since late December in 2019, the coronavirus disease 2019 has received extensive attention for its widespread prevalence. A number of clinical workers and researchers have made great efforts to understand the pathogenesis and clinical characteristics and develop effective drugs for treatment. However, no effective drugs with antiviral effects on severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 have been discovered currently. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has gained abundant experience in the treatment of infectious diseases for thousands of years. In this review, the authors summarized the clinical outcome, pathogensis and current application of TCM on coronavirus disease 2019. Further, we discussed the potential mechanisms and the future research directions of TCM against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2.

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