Department of Persian Medicine, School of Persian Medicine, Qom University of Medical Sciences, Qom, Iran.
Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Spiritual Health Research Center, Qom University of Medical Sciences, Qom, Iran.
Med Gas Res. 2022 Apr-Jun;12(2):44-50. doi: 10.4103/2045-9912.325991.
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused an urgent need for investigating potential treatments. Traditional medicine offers many potential remedies that have been historically used and have the advantage of bypassing the cultural obstacles in the practice of medicine. We aimed to investigate the efficacy of Zufa syrup in the treatment of suspected patients with mild to moderate symptoms of COVID-19. This triple-blind randomized controlled trial recruited patients with evidence of COVID-19 on chest computed tomography without an indication of hospital admission from March 2020 until April 2020. Participants were assessed by a physician and completed a pre-specified form to assess the duration and severity of symptoms. Patients were randomized to receive Zufa syrup (a combination of herbal medicines: Nepetabracteata, Ziziphus jujube, Glycyrrhizaglabra, Ficuscarica, Cordia myxa, Papaver somniferum, Fennel, Adiantumcapillus-veneris, Viola, Viper's-buglosses, Lavender, Iris, and sugar) or identical-looking placebo syrup at a dose of 7.5 mL (one tablespoon) every 4 hours for 10 days. After applying the eligibility criteria, 116 patients (49.1% male) were randomized to trial arms with a mean age of 44.3. During the follow-up, Cough, dyspnea, headache, myalgia, anorexia, anxiety, and insomnia improved gradually in both groups, and showed no difference between Zufa syrup and placebo. Oxygen saturation and pulse rate had stable trends throughout the follow-up and were similar between study arms. No patient required hospital admission or supplemental oxygen therapy during the study period. To conclude, in patients with mild to moderate symptoms of COVID-19, Zufa syrup did not show any difference in symptomatology over a 10 days' period when compared with placebo. Due to potential effects of medicinal plants in the treatment of respiratory infections, further studies are warranted to clarify their role in COVID-19. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Qom University of Medical Science (Ethics committee reference number IR.MUQ.REC.1398.165) on March 10, 2020 and was registered in Iranian Clinical Trial Center (approval ID: IRCT20200404046934N1) on April 13, 2020.
新型冠状病毒病（COVID-19）大流行导致人们迫切需要寻找潜在的治疗方法。传统医学提供了许多潜在的治疗方法，这些方法在历史上已经被使用，并且具有克服医学实践中的文化障碍的优势。我们旨在研究 Zufa 糖浆治疗疑似 COVID-19 轻症至中度症状患者的疗效。这项三盲随机对照试验于 2020 年 3 月至 2020 年 4 月期间，从胸部计算机断层扫描显示 COVID-19 证据但无需住院的患者中招募了参与者。由医生评估并填写预先指定的表格，以评估症状的持续时间和严重程度。患者随机接受 Zufa 糖浆（草药组合：荆芥、枣、甘草、桑椹、肾茶、罂粟、茴香、凤尾蕨、堇菜、Viper's-buglosses、薰衣草、鸢尾和糖）或外观相同的安慰剂糖浆，剂量为 7.5 毫升（一汤匙），每 4 小时一次，持续 10 天。应用入选标准后，116 名患者（49.1%为男性）被随机分配到试验组，平均年龄为 44.3 岁。在随访期间，两组患者的咳嗽、呼吸困难、头痛、肌痛、食欲不振、焦虑和失眠逐渐改善，Zufa 糖浆与安慰剂之间无差异。在整个随访期间，血氧饱和度和脉搏率呈稳定趋势，两组间相似。在研究期间，没有患者需要住院或补充氧气治疗。总之，在 COVID-19 轻症至中度症状患者中，与安慰剂相比，Zufa 糖浆在 10 天内对症状无差异。由于药用植物在治疗呼吸道感染方面的潜在作用，需要进一步研究以明确其在 COVID-19 中的作用。该研究于 2020 年 3 月 10 日获得库姆医科大学伦理委员会的批准（伦理委员会参考编号 IR.MUQ.REC.1398.165），并于 2020 年 4 月 13 日在伊朗临床试验中心注册（批准 ID：IRCT20200404046934N1）。
