Abstract

There has always been high interest in the use of traditional medicines for COVID-19 from early in the course of the pandemic. Significant advances in the science of ethnopharmacology has helped to introduce chemical entities identified from natural sources into modern medicine. However, the wider integration of natural products into the modern drug discovery process will require enhanced collaboration among different stakeholders including the pharmaceutical industry, academic research units, regulatory bodies, ethics review committees, local, regional, continental and international organizations. Revisiting this topic holds promise of benefit for both the current and future pandemics.