Medicinal plants and Human Health
From the last three decades, the practice of herbal medicines has increased many folds and become mainstream treatment against diseases all over the globe especially in Asia (Kumar et al., 2015; Huang et al., 2020). Conventional medicinal practice is still prevalent and growing in popularity in developing countries. Health practitioners, the general public, and policymakers are grappling with questions about the protection, consistency, efficacy, preservation, and potential prospects of such herbal health care (TEPC, 2018). MAPs are used as raw materials in both traditional and modern medical systems. Currently, approximately 25% of allopathic drugs are derived from plant-related substances, with many more being synthetic analogs based on prototype compounds extracted from plant materials (Rao et al., 2004).
Traditional medicine, mostly plant medicines, is used for primary health care by 60% of the world’s population and 80% of the population in developing countries (Shrestha & Dhillon, 2003). Traditional plant-based medicines are used by 70% of India’s population (Gadgil, 1998), 80% of Pakistan’s population (Ahmad & Ghafoor, 2000), and 80% of Nepal’s population (Kunwar et al., 2006). For years, various pharmaceutical and cosmetic companies have used herbal plants as over-the-counter medicines as home remedies and therapies in developing countries, mostly in Asia (TEPC, 2018). In the absence of any proven medicines/vaccines for COVID-19 cure, possible antiviral and immune booster herbal medicines, extracts, and formulations may be useful in lowering the global mortality rate associated with COVID-19 (Srivastava et al., 2020). In the current situation, local people are using medicinal herbs as a treatment option for Covid-19 to boost immunity against viral attacks, as there is no specific treatment for COVID-19 available at this time. The medicinal herbs such as Tinospora cordifolia  (Gurjo), Glycyrrhiza glabra  (Jestimadhu), Swertia chirayita  (Chiraito), Ocimum sanctum  (Tulsi), Zingiber officinale  (Aduwa), Curcuma longa  (Haledo/Besar), Allium sativum  (Lasun), Withania somnifera  (Ashwagandha), Moringa oleifera  (Sheetal Chini), Zanthoxylum armatum  (Timur), Cinnamomum zeylanicum  (Dalchini) and Phyllanthus emblica  (Amala) are used in Nepal (Gyawali et.al., 2020).