Prevention and Early Treatment for Viruses: Part II

Many people have the idea that Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Western medicine are incompatible or contradictory. While they do take different approaches to healing, TCM and Western medicine can actually complement one another. 

There is now a wealth of evidence supporting the safety and effectiveness of acupuncture and herbs, as researchers in both East and West look at traditional practices through a Western lens. 

The effectiveness of herbal therapies against viruses is well supported by recent scientific studies. In an April 30, 2020 webinar (co-sponsored by Pacific College of Health and Science and Lhasa OMS, a supplier of acupuncture needles and Chinese herbs), John K. Chen, Ph.D., Pharm.D., O.M.D., L.Ac., presented research and evidence relating to the use of Chinese herbs in treating and preventing viruses. 

Dr. Chen reported on 20-plus herbal therapies that show potential or have proven effective against viruses, citing more than 60 studies that support such claims. None of these are antibiotics: they do not work by killing the virus. But they do have specific, well-understood pharmacological effects. These include blocking the entry of the virus into host cells and preventing replication of the virus within host cells. 

More generally, various Chinese herbal formulas can relieve cough and dyspnea (difficult or labored breathing), relieve fever and inflammation, and promote generation of bodily fluids, among other beneficial effects.  

I have studied under Dr. Chen. His knowledge about the pharmacology of Chinese herbs is impressive. He also has a masterly grasp of the pathophysiology of viruses: the process by which the virus attacks the lungs. 

One of the things that complicates treatment of viruses is that the disease progresses quickly from one phase to a different phase as it moves from the upper respiratory tract to the lower respiratory tract. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, we say it moves from the exterior to the interior. 

TCM recognizes this two-phase division as requiring two very different kinds of therapy. In the first phase, or to help the body stave off infection, herbal therapies are used to boost the immune response. At a later stage with COVID-19, the body’s own immune system goes into overdrive, triggering a response called a cytokine storm, with effects similar to what happens with autoimmune disease. At this stage, the immune response may actually need to be suppressed. 

In fact, we can distinguish three stages: One kind of herbal therapy works best in helping patients resist infection prior to exposure, another to boost the immune system in the early stages of infection, yet another as the disease moves into the interior of the lungs. 

To give a specific example, in the early stages of a virus infection, a patient might receive an herbal formula to promote the generation of mucus, since the mucous membrane acts as a trap for invading viral particles. At a later stage, the lungs of a patient may fill with so much fluid that the body has difficulty in clearing it and it becomes difficult to breathe; a different kind of therapy is then required. 

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, herbal therapies are tailored, not only to the stage of the disease, but also to the individual patient. And, whereas Western medicines tend to have just one active ingredient, the formulas used in TCM generally comprise many different agents that balance each other, providing relief from side effects. 

Since the virus has appeared so recently, researchers began by looking for guidance to some of the studies on the use of herbal therapies during the SARS epidemic of 2002-2004. While there are differences, these two viruses have a lot in common. In fact, their genomes are 96% identical. 

Other studies have specifically identified the effects of herbal therapies on the SARS-CoV-2 virus. 

In the latter group, results published in The American Journal of Chinese Medicine, March 20201 showed that two herbs comprising one herbal decoction (Jin Yin Hua or Flos Lonicerae Japonicae, and Lian Qiao or Fructus Forsythiae) contain compounds with the potential to directly inhibit the 2019 novel coronavirus. These compounds interfere with the virus’s ability to bind to receptors in the host cell. 

(An earlier study, conducted jointly in 2004 by research institutions in Taiwan together with the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California, similarly showed that Jin Yin Hua inhibits replication of the SARS virus, SARS-CoV). 

The same mechanism of action against the 2019 novel coronavirus was reported for two other herbs traditionally combined in one decoction (Sang Ye or Folium Mori and Ju Hua or Flos Chrysanthemi), in a study published in February 2020 in the Journal of Integrative Medicine.2 Together, these herbs have not only antiviral but also antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and antipyretic effects.