There has always been high interest in the use of traditional medicines
for COVID-19 from early in the course of the pandemic. Significant
advances in the science of ethnopharmacology has helped to introduce
chemical entities identified from natural sources into modern medicine.
However, the wider integration of natural products into the modern drug
discovery process will require enhanced collaboration among different
stakeholders including the pharmaceutical industry, academic research
units, regulatory bodies, ethics review committees, local, regional,
continental and international organizations. Revisiting this topic holds
promise of benefit for both the current and future pandemics.