CHAPTER 5: Profiling Some Plant-based Immunomodulatory Bioactive Compounds for COVID-19 Prophylaxis and Treatment Based on Indian Traditional Medicine

The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) or coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has imposed several challenges on the current healthcare system around the world. Despite the significant effort to contain the COVID-19 epidemic, the situation has entered a vicious stage without any proven prophylaxis strategy for the treatment of mild, moderate, and severe conditions. Although there are diverse therapeutics at various stages of development, the utilization of traditional medicine offers a requisite immune response to different phases of COVID-19 infection. Since plant based-bioactive compounds are commonly used in traditional medicine to treat several health problems, in this review we have provided a pragmatic classification of medicinal plants based upon suitable immunomodulation properties at multiple stages starting from prevention to contagion, such as infection, immunosuppression, and stages involving multiple organ failure as well as recovery management. Systematic compilation and classification of plant-based bioactive chemicals was carried out for mild, moderate, and severe COVID-19 conditions and relevant clinical trials. The traditional medicinal approaches combined with the ongoing therapeutic system have the potential to provide effective treatments, improving the synergistic effects and prioritization of plant-based bioactive compounds in combating SARS-CoV-2.