Network pharmacology-based analysis of the role of traditional Chinese herbal medicines in the treatment of COVID-19

BACKGROUND: The novel coronavirus named COVID-19, which originated in Wuhan, China, has spread to many countries around the world. Currently, no effective medical treatment exists to combat this disease. Traditional Chinese herbal medicines (CHM) have unique roles in the treatment of viral infections. In this article we analyzed the effectiveness and possible molecular mechanisms of CHM formulas for the prevention of COVID-19. METHODS: The active ingredients and action targets of CHM formulas were obtained from the TCMSP database. Genes related to severe acute respiratory syndromes (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) were queried on the GeneCards database. The action mechanisms of these genes were predicted using a Gene Ontology (GO)-based functional enrichment and annotation tool and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG). RESULTS: CHM formulas played a positive role in preventing COVID-19 and warrant further application. CONCLUSIONS: Our research provides new evidence to support the possible value of CHM formulas for the prevention of COVID-19. However, further clinical studies with large sample sizes are required to verify their effectiveness.