Emergence of Ethnomedical COVID-19 Treatment: A Literature Review

The emergence of COVID-19 as a new pandemic in the modern era has led the public to a new perspective of health. In the earlier days of the COVID-19 pandemic, many factors made people go on their own ways in finding its supposed “cure”. With conventional medicines’ limited availability and access, traditional medicines become more appealing due to its widespread availability and increased perception of safety. Several herbal medicines are then believed to be able to alleviate or cure COVID-19 and its symptoms. Similarities and patterns in herbal medicines being used show local wisdom of the respective communities regarding their knowledge of diseases and its treatment, known as ethnomedicine. Despite not being approved yet by regulatory bodies as a definitive guideline in COVID-19 management, the application of ethnomedicine results in several herbal medicine candidates that show a promising result regarding its efficacy in managing COVID-19. This literature review aims to study how a society and its knowledge of medicine responds to a new and currently developing disease, and whether if that knowledge merits further study in search of a cure for the pandemic. Furthermore, the narrative aspect in this review also explores socio-politics and public health aspects and considerations of non-conventional COVID-19 treatment.