''Shuanghuanglian'' (Chinese: 双黄连) is a

traditional Chinese medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. It has been described as "fraught with pseudoscience", with the majority of its treatments having no logical mechanism of acti ...

with a long history for treating respiratory tract infection in China. Some of its active ingredients are Wogonin,

Baicalin As baicalin is a flavone glycoside, it is a flavonoid. It is the glucuronide of baicalein. Natural occurrences Baicalin is found in several species in the genus ''Scutellaria'', including ''Scutellaria baicalensis'', and '' Scutellaria lateri ...

and

baicalein Baicalein (5,6,7-trihydroxyflavone) is a flavone, a type of flavonoid, originally isolated from the roots of '' Scutellaria baicalensis'' and '' Scutellaria lateriflora''. It is also reported in '' Oroxylum indicum'' (Indian trumpetflower) and '' ...

. It is derived from three Chinese herbal medicines, namely, '' Lonicera japonica Thunb.'', '' Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi'', and '' Forsythia suspense (Thunb.) Vahl''. It has been used for the treatment of acute respiratory tract infections since 1973. It is mentioned in the '' Chinese Pharmacopoeia''. The substance has been shown ''

in vitro ''In vitro'' (meaning in glass, or ''in the glass'') studies are performed with microorganisms, cells, or biological molecules outside their normal biological context. Colloquially called " test-tube experiments", these studies in biology ...

'' to be cytotoxic "against a clinical isolate of SARS-CoV-2".

History

In July 2020, Su et al reported on an ''

'' experiment of its effect on

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

. Following the release of the report, which was in part supported by the Jack Ma Foundation, there was an uptick in Shuanghuanglian sales.

References

{{reflist Traditional Chinese medicine