Early use of natural remedies for coronavirus patients showed promise, researchers say
Release date: September 1, 2023 20:49
Women wear masks to protect themselves from the high levels of PM2.5 pollution that blankets many areas of Bangkok during the winter in Bangkok’s Bangna district on February 2. (File photo: Somchai Phumrad)
Local researchers are investigating the possibility of turning three medicinal plants into medicines to combat chronic diseases related to air pollution.
The plant has a digit root (boesenbergia rotunda), green chiretta (Andrographis paniculata) and blue trumpet vine (Thunbergia laurifolia).
The research project is being carried out by the Chao Phraya Abu Haib Bejr Hospital in Prachin Buri and the Mahidol University School of Medicine at the Chakri Narjevodendra Medical Research Institute in Samut Prakan.
Ultrafine dust pollution from PM2.5 is the cause of several chronic diseases, but Associate Professor Pisit Kemmawut, associate dean of research at the Chakri Narjevodendra Medical Research Institute, says that plants can reduce the health effects of air pollution. He said it could be avoided.
The institute will support research from the laboratory stage to clinical trials, it added.
Supathorn Pitiporn, executive director of the Chao Phraya Abu Hive Vegil Hospital Foundation, said the number of patients suffering from chronic diseases such as diabetes and high cholesterol is increasing, resulting in complications that require expensive treatment. He said there was.
These complications include cancer, which costs tens of billions of baht each year to treat with imported medicines, she said.
“We must find alternatives to these drugs to improve access to treatment for the public,” she says.
She said the properties of the three plants, particularly finger root and green chiretta, were evident when used on COVID-19 patients during the pandemic.
The research project will investigate the medicinal properties of plants and develop new drugs based on them, she added.
