Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 Emergence and Its Treatment with Alternative Medicines: A Review

Known as the causal factor of the recent global COVID-19 pandemic, any SARS-CoV-2 is not the only coronavirus that has constituted a menace to society and taken thousands of human lives. Two previous pandemics were also led by coronaviruses; such as the MERS-CoV in 2012 and another SARS-CoV in 2002. Only five months into existence, SARS-CoV-2 transmitted infection to approximately 75 million people and it has led to more than 1.5 million of deaths all over the world. Unfortunately, there has not been any specific treatment yet for COVID-19 yet and its control is purely empirical. The examinations of the parity between SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV, in terms of their genomics, origin, epidemiology, and pathogenesis, suggested that we may use the previous data of MERS-CoV or SARS-CoV as a guideline for uncovering the effective approach to strive against SARS-CoV-2. Various studies have reported the positive effects of numerous phytochemical compounds against SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV. Interestingly, this idea has been emplyed for SARS-CoV-2, and in silico screening of phytochemical compounds has been performed for identifying the potential candidates for COVID-19 treatment. Curcumin is an example of a natural compound which was demonstrated as potent candidate contrary to SARS-CoV-2 protease derived from the in silico studies. Herein, the occurrence of SARS-CoV-2 and the aplication of alternative medicines for treating coronavirus diseases are briefly reviewed.