TEHRAN – Twenty medicinal herbs effective in COVID-19 treatment have been licensed by the Food and Drug Administration, 10 of which were commercialized, Nafiseh Hosseini Yekta the director of the Iranian Medicine Office of the Ministry of Health, has announced.

More than 100 medicinal plants research projects have been launched since the beginning of the pandemic in various universities and research centers to help prevent and treat the disease, she noted.

The results of some projects led to the production of herbal medicine; So, about 20 herbal medicine licenses were issued by the Food and Drug Administration and 10 of these drugs were distributed in the country's pharmaceutical market, she explained.

The licensing of these products is based on research plans, and the research plan states that each of these natural products will affect what symptom, and will be used accordingly, she also stated.

Earlier in September, Hosseini Yekta said that the instructions for the use of Iranian traditional medicine to treat COVID-19 have been prepared.

Iranian traditional medicine strongly focuses on prioritizing health maintenance and disease prevention over treatment. Simple instructions that help patients along with the treatments available in conventional medicine. Many of the contents of this guideline were also subjected to clinical trials, which clearly had a positive effect on the symptoms and duration of hospitalization of patients compared to the control group.

Scientists are trying to play a role in the production of effective medicine for the treatment of various diseases, including COVID-19, despite sanctions and global pressures.

Alireza Abbassian the health ministry’s director of the traditional medicine department, said in March that Iranian traditional medicine can play an effective role in strengthening the immune system to resist the novel coronavirus infection.

Moreover, a center offering traditional medicine services to coronavirus patients was inaugurated in Tehran’s Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences in November 2020.

Iranian traditional medicine is one of the most ancient forms of traditional medicine. It is grounded in the concept of four senses of humor: phlegm (Balgham), blood (Dam), yellow bile (Safra'), and black bile (Sauda'). The concept of four senses of humor is based on the teachings of Rhazes and Avicenna in an elaborate medical system.

Iranian traditional medicine strongly focuses on prioritizing health maintenance and disease prevention over treatment.

8,000 herbal species grow in Iran

So far, about 30,000 plant species are identified in the world, with Iran's share of about 8,000 species its plant diversity is more than the whole of Europe.

Currently, about 2,300 species of medicinal plants have been identified in the country; while medicinal plants account for one-third of the medicines used in human societies, the share of world trade in these products is about $124 billion and Iran’s share is $570 million, which is only 0.5 percent of the total.

The per capita consumption of medicinal plants in Iran is about one kilogram of dried plants, in other words, 83,000 tons of medicinal plants worth 1.2 trillion rials (around $4 million) are consumed in the country, while in Europe this amount is 900 grams and in the United States is 2.5 kilograms.

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