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The purpose of this paper is to describe and discuss the use of Chinese medicine in the prevention and treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in China and Asia.

This paper provides a brief overview of the COVID-19. Based on the syndrome differentiation (辨證論治), the concept of clearing heat and detoxifying lung in traditional Chinese medicine is used to prevent and treat COVID-19 through restoring the vital qi (正氣) in human body and regulating the lung as well as spleen to strengthen the immune system. Traditional Chinese medicine has been used as a complementary therapy for the possible intervention of COVID-19 including traditional Chinese herbal decoctions, Chinese traditional patent medicines, acupuncture and moxibustion as well as the traditional health exercises in China and parts of Asia.

Traditional Chinese medicine plays a significant role in the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 pandemic. The infection cases of China are around 80,000 and a steady decline compared with the USA which has 5,000,000 infection cases and continuous increases. It is shown that more than 90% of patients recovered after the treatment of traditional Chinese herbal decoctions and Chinese traditional patent medicines without any side-effect compared to the use of Remdesivir (GS-5734). Acupuncture (針灸) and moxibustion (艾灸) stimulate the immune and nervous systems for preventing infectious diseases. Taichi (太極) and Baduanjin (八段錦) as the auxiliary aerobic exercise under the theory of Chinese medicine can enhance the immune system and improve the lung function. Thus, an integration of traditional Chinese Medicine and Western medicine is the best strategy for the prevention, treatment and control of COVID-19 pandemic in the future.

This paper describes traditional Chinese medicine as an effective way for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is a complete medical healthcare system that encompasses acupuncture, acupressure, moxibustion, herbal medicine, diet, tui na massage, and exercises (tai chi and qigong) among other traditional therapies. It uses herbs and natural resources to produce the traditional medicines and focuses on maintaining the balance between body and mind. As such, many aspects of TCM can be considered as green and sustainable. While there is market demand for TCM in some countries and among some communities, some others are still not aware of TCM. Moreover, there are fewer discussions in the academic platforms on TCM. This case highlights the scenario of TCM based on Malaysia’s perspective and discusses its challenges and prospects.

The purpose of this study is to determine the blood pressure (BP) lowing potential of some herbs used by the indigenous people of Zango Kataf, Kaduna State, Nigeria, to treat hypertension.

A total of 17 herbal healers and 15 hypertensive patients who use herbs to treat hypertension in Zango Kataf, Kaduna State, Nigeria, were consulted between 2019 and 2020. Participants were selected via purposeful sampling. BP was measured before and after the ingestion of a herbal preparation. Three plant preparations were screened: Newbouldia laevis, Hibiscus cannabinus and Pavetta crassipes.

H. cannabinus produced a significant decrease of 16, 12 and 14 mmHg in SBP at 2, 3 and 4 h, respectively (p = 0.001 at 2 h, p = 0.04 at 3 h, p = 0.01 at 4 h). While P. crassipes produced a significant decrease in SBP of 12, 15, 19 and 20 mmHg at 1, 2, 3 and 4 h, respectively (p = 0.04 at 1 h, p= 0.00 at 2 h, p = 0.00 at 3 h and p = 0.00 at 4 h). The findings for N. laevis were not reported due to incomplete information.

The sample size of this study was small. The researcher could not meet with some hypertensive clients owing to the poor cooperation of some herbal healers. Further, some hypertensive patients rejected the offer to participate in the study.

This study reveals that treatment with H. cannabinus and P. crassipes significantly decrease BP in hypertensive patients.

The aim of this paper was to attempt to investigate the transformation of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) industry in Guangdong Province of China by applying a perspective of sectoral system of innovation (SSI). TCM industry in China has experienced an evolution path from low-tech to modern industry.

An analytical framework of sectoral system innovation for explaining the change in TCM industry in Guangdong Province has been conducted.

It shows that during the successful transformation of the TCM industry in Guangdong from low-tech to modern sector, national and provincial institution are acting as main drivers. Knowledge integration is the decision factor of modernization and innovation strategy as an actor that makes the transformation adjust and operate efficiently. Other actors, such as demand and external networks interplay together and led to a gradual organizational, structural and institutional change and modernization of TCM industry.

SSI analyses of TCM in China have never been conducted before, this paper also contributes to enrich the experience of low-tech industry transformation and provide references to other low-tech industries around the world.

The proposed DHHFLOWLAD is used to design a recommendation system, which aims to provide the most appropriate treatment to the patient under a double hierarchy hesitant fuzzy linguistic environment.

Based on the ordered weighted distance measure and logarithmic aggregation, we first propose a double hierarchy hesitant fuzzy linguistic ordered weighted logarithmic averaging distance (DHHFLOWLAD) measure in this paper.

A case study is presented to illustrate the practicability and efficiency of the proposed approach. The results show that the recommendation system can prioritize TCM treatment plans effectively. Moreover, it can cope with pattern recognition problems efficiently under uncertain information environments.

An expert system is proposed to combat COVID-19 that is an emerging infectious disease causing disruptions globally. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been proved to relieve symptoms, improve the cure rate, and reduce the death rate in clinical cases of COVID-19.

This article focuses on some of the reported medicinal values of bitter melon, an exotic vegetable forming part of the cuisine of various countries.

Available data in the literature strongly support the anti‐hypoglycaemic properties of Bitter melon. A literature view was carried out and the data were used to validate our findings regarding the effects of extracts of Momordica charantia on uptake of sugar.

Our work adds on to the growing evidence of the anti‐diabetic properties of bitter melon.

In view of evidence reported in the literature regarding the medicinal properties of vegetables, the importance of vegetables in a well balanced diet should therefore be strongly advocated.

This paper adds on to the evidence of the use of Momordica charantia as a medicinal plant in traditional medicine in the control of blood sugar level.

This review aimed to identify and map published studies on self-care practices to manage common acute health conditions in the Philippines.

The authors conducted a scoping review in PubMed, Scopus, Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), ProQuest Central, Journal Storage (JSTOR) and the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development – Health Research and Development Information Network (HERDIN). The authors included all studies on self-care practices to manage common acute conditions, namely low back pain, allergic rhinitis, general acute pain, cough, cold, diarrhea, constipation and stress, published up to 2021 in the Philippines. Information on the article type, aim of the study, study design and setting, population characteristics and size, and self-practices employed for the conditions were extracted and synthesized.

The authors identified various self-care practices for acute conditions among the general population and indigenous peoples in the Philippines from 26 studies included in the review: the use of medicines with and without a prescription, appropriate and inappropriate antibiotic use, use of medicinal plants and other traditional and alternative therapies and products, recreational activities and healthy habits and behaviors, and self-management or seeking care from traditional healers (albularyo or manggagamot) or health professionals. A number of considerations influenced their decision on how to manage symptoms, including perceived severity of the condition, availability and perceived effectiveness of treatment, cost, and advice from trusted sources of health information.

The authors searched five major databases and a local research database, but some studies may still have been missed in the review. The review also excluded intervention studies on the outcomes of self-care, which limits the authors' ability to make conclusions on the effectiveness of the different modalities of self-care.

Filipinos engage in a variety of “safe” (or evidence-informed) and “unsafe” (or harmful) self-care practices. While the term “self-care” is not routinely used by the general population and health providers, it is widely enculturated and practiced in the Philippines. Self-care benefits individuals and the health system, but there are also practices that increase risk of adverse outcomes and death including inappropriate antibiotic use, prescription sharing and reuse, and delays in seeking adequate treatment from a health professional. To leverage on self-care in advancing Universal Health Coverage (UHC) goals, the authors recommend a national strategy that provides guidance on how to practice responsible self-care, further research on the effectiveness and safety of alternative medicine and other priority areas, and better integration of self-care in the formal education and health systems. The authors also propose that the research agenda on self-care include acute health conditions, given their impact and burden on health and the economy.

This is the first published review of self-care practices for managing common acute health conditions, which captured practices of various groups and populations including indigenous peoples.

The aim of this study is to provide a review of the research studies that took place in the previous years regarding Mangiferin and its potential use in the treatment of various disorders such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cancer and human immunodeficiency virus.

Mangiferin can be easily extracted from the plant at a very low cost to treat some common as well as deadly diseases, which will be a miracle in herbal treatment. In support of this, the recent related articles were considered to understand the bioactive compound “Mangiferin” to treat lifestyle diseases. Various review articles and research papers were collected from international and national journals, and internet sources were also being used to compile the current manuscript.

Mangiferin has been shown to have the potential to mitigate many life style diseases such as diabetes, obesity, hypertension, fatty liver, atherosclerosis, dyslipidemia and diabetes-related end-organ complications such as retinopathy, neuropathy and nephropathy.

In this comprehensive review, this study evaluates Mangiferin and its lifestyle disease-modifying properties for nutraceuticals purposes.

The purpose of this study was to review the information on the scientific efforts and achievements in sustainable industrial textile applications of natural colourants. Then the paper suggests the ways of improving the industrial textile applications of plant-based colourants.

The literature on the chemistry, sources and extraction of plant-based natural colourants was reviewed. The reviewed information was analysed and synthesised to provide techniques for selecting sustainable extraction methods, possible sustainable textile applications of natural colourants and the challenges which hinder industrial textile applications of plant-based natural colourants. The ways of overcoming the challenges of the industrial textile applications of plant natural colourants were suggested. Lastly, the current situation of industrial application of natural dyes in textiles is presented.

Despite the scientific achievement to overcome the challenges of natural colourants for textiles, the global industrial application of natural colourants is still low. Inadequate knowledge of the dyers results into poor performance of the natural dyed textile. The natural dyed textiles are expensive due to the scarcity of raw materials for manufacturing of natural colourants. The selection of suitable extraction, application methods and type of substrate should consider the chemistry of the particular colourant. The society should be educated about the benefits of natural dyed textiles. Cultivation of colourant-bearing plants should be promoted to meet the industrial material demand.

The paper provides a synthesized collection of information about the source, chemistry, extraction, textile application and challenges of plant-based natural colourants. The reviewed information was analysed and synthesised to provide techniques for selecting sustainable extraction methods, possible sustainable textile applications of natural colourants and the challenges which hinder industrial textile applications of plant-based natural colourants. The ways of overcoming the challenges of the industrial textile applications of plant natural colourants were suggested.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive overview of multiple functions of the coriander plant, including its nutritional and nutraceutical benefits, with special reference to linalool.

The authors undertake a literature review of the coriander plant's history, chemical composition of coriander parts and its oil, and their nutraceutical potential. Various phytopharmacological appraisals have been discussed at length to investigate their important potential.

Coriander is an annual, herbaceous plant which originated from the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern regions and known as medicinal plants. Coriander contains an essential oil (0.03‐2.6%). The different parts of this plant contain monoterpenes, limpnene, α‐pinene, γ‐terpinene, p‐cymene, citronellol, borneol, camphor, coriandrin, geraniol, dihydrocoriandrin, coriandronsA‐E, flavonoids and essential oils. It is used as a stomachic, spasmolytic and carminative which have a greater bioactive property. Various parts of this plant, such as seeds, leaves, flower and fruit, possess antioxidant activity, diuretic, anti‐convulsant anti‐diabetic activity, sedative hypnotic activity, anti‐mutagenic, anti‐microbial activity, anthelmintic activity. The physical properties, chemical composition and bioactivity affect the coriander's commercial value.

Currently available information on coriander seeds and leaves is insufficient. These observations have led to continuing research aimed at identifying specific bioactive components in foods, such as antioxidants, which may be responsible for improving and maintaining health. Antioxidants are present in foods as vitamins, minerals, carotenoids, and polyphenols. Coriander is also rich in such compounds. Research supports that some of these foods, as part of an overall healthful diet, have the potential to delay the onset of many age‐related diseases, so there is urgent need to explore the role of these compounds.

This review is unique in its comprehensive nature and reflects the importance of coriander as a medicinal food.