SynthesisPhytomedicine : international journal of phytotherapy and phytopharmacology2022
Herbal medicine for COVID-19: An overview of systematic reviews and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Phytomedicine : international journal of phytotherapy and phytopharmacology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 28 citations in OpenAlex.
- The efficacy of herbal medicines on the length of stay and negative conversion time/rate outcomes in patients with COVID-19: a systematic review.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2024Pooled it
- [Herbal treatment options for post-viral symptoms and long COVID].Wiener medizinische Wochenschrift (1946) · 2026Review
- Prevalence, patterns, drivers, and perceived benefits of herbal medicine use in COVID-19 patients in Qatar.Journal of pharmaceutical policy and practice · 2025Article
- The methodological reporting quality in strictly randomized controlled trials for COVID-19 and precise reporting of Chinese herbal medicine formula intervention.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Article
- Efficacy of Kegan Liyan oral liquid vs. Lianhuaqingwen capsules for patients with mild COVID-19: a double-blinded, randomized, controlled, non-inferiority trial.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Article
- Detection of Total Aflatoxins in Herbal Medicines Based on Lateral Flow Assay with Contamination Ratio Model.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Article
- Article
- Xuanfei Baidu decoction in the treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): Efficacy and potential mechanisms.Heliyon · 2023Review
- Herbal Medicine Nanocrystals: A Potential Novel Therapeutic Strategy.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Article
- Effectiveness of Fortified Garlic Extract Oral Capsules as Adjuvant Therapy in Hospitalized Patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019: A Triple-Blind Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial.Current therapeutic research, clinical and experimental · 2023Article
- The Efficacy of Herbs as Complementary and Alternative Therapy in Recovery and Clinical Outcome Among People with COVID-19: A Systematic Review, Meta-Analysis, and Meta-Regression.Therapeutics and clinical risk management · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAs coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) continues to spread throughout countries, researchers and scientific groups have published a large number of scientific papers examining effective treatments and prevention strategies for COVID-19, including herbal medicine. It has become difficult to navigate the increasing volume of scientific material on the pandemic, and critical appraisal of these outcomes is needed. This overview of systematic reviews (SRs) aims to synthesize evidence from SRs and summarize the effects of herbal medicine interventions in the treatment of COVID-19.
methodsFour databases were searched from inception up to October 20, 2021. SRs analyzing primary studies of the efficacy of herbal medications for treating COVID-19 were included. Two reviewers selected the studies and retrieved the data independently. The AMSTAR 2 (A Measurement Tool to Assess Systematic Reviews) was used to assess the methodological quality of the included SRs.
resultsA total of 21 SRs on herbal medicine treatments for COVID-19 were included. All SRs were published between May 2020 and September 2021. Thirteen of the SRs included only randomized controlled trials (RCTs), whereas the remaining eight included evidence from nonrandomized trials in addition to RCTs, with a significant overlap identified across the RCTs. Twelve SRs concluded that existing evidence was insufficient to form a definite judgment, nine found that herbal therapy was useful, and none indicated that herbal medicine had no benefit. The AMSTAR 2 tool revealed that the methodological quality of the included SRs was generally low.
conclusionIn this overview of SRs, we reviewed herbal medicine-related evidence from 21 SRs that were published after the outbreak of COVID-19. This study shows that while there is considerable evidence demonstrating the advantages of herbal medicine interventions, the quality of the evidence is inadequate to provide solid and accurate judgments about the effectiveness of herbal medicine therapies for COVID-19. Despite the crisis caused by the pandemic, clinical studies and SRs should comply with established methodological standards.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.