Potential clinical applications of phytopharmaceuticals for the in-patient management of coagulopathies in COVID-19.

ABSTRACT

Thrombotic complications occur in many cardiovascular pathologies and have been demonstrated in COVID-19. The currently used antithrombotic drugs are not free of adverse reactions, and COVID-19 patients in particular, when treated with a therapeutic dose of an anticoagulant do not receive mortality benefits. The clinical management of COVID-19 is one of the most difficult tasks for clinicians, and the search for safe, potent, and effective antithrombotic drugs may benefit from exploring naturally bioactive molecules from plant sources. This review describes recent advances in understanding the antithrombotic potential of herbal drug prototypes and points to their future clinical use as potent antithrombotic drugs. Although natural products are perceived to be safe, their clinical and therapeutic applications are not always apparent or accepted. More in-depth studies are necessary to demonstrate the clinical usefulness of plant-derived, bioactive compounds. In addition, holistic approaches in systematic investigations and the identification of antithrombotic mechanisms of the herbal bioactive molecule(s) need to be conducted in pre-clinical studies. Moreover, rigorous studies are needed to compare the potency of herbal drugs to that of competitor chemical antithrombotic drugs, and to examine their interactions with Western antithrombotic medicines. We have also proposed a road map to improve the commercialization of phytopharmaceuticals.