Potential Plants for Treatment and Management of COVID-19 in Nigeria

The recent outburst of novel Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), now a global pandemic highlights an urgent need for therapeutics targeting ‘severe acute respiratory syndrome' (SARS-CoV-2). In Nigeria, infection cases are on daily rise with death rate of ~3 %. Therefore, slowing the spread of the virus will significantly reduce the strain on the healthcare system and governments. Here, we presented local medicinal plants cultivated in Nigeria as possible therapeutic approaches, exclusively targeting SARS-CoV-2 and its pathways. The study focused on some plants containing bioactive compounds that showed promising results against previous coronaviruses. Potential plants identified include Zingiber officinale, Allium cepa, Allium sativum, echinacea, euphorbia hirta, Garcenea kola, Curcuma longa, Aleo vera and olea europaea. Although inhibition of viral replication is seen as the possible mechanism for antiviral activity of most of the natural compounds, recent research has shown that some natural compounds can interact with major viral proteins associated with virulence. Thereby, showing they could be a valuable tool for possible inhibition, management and treatment of SARS-CoV-2. However, further research is required to investigate and validate their potential use as anti-SARS-CoV-2.