Author: SEOK WOO YANG, MD & PhD
Corresponding E.mail: soplab@outlook.kr
Date: 2020.02.01
Contents:
As of February 1, 2020, the outbreak of 2019-nCoV in mainly China and all over the world has been throwing many peoples into turmoil, as the following reasons:
1. no therapeutic drug,
2. no vaccine,
3. avoidance of infected person is the only preventive method,
4. even latent patients can spread nCoV infection.
Until bioscientists and medical doctors discover a new therapeutic drug, what can/should we do?
As a common sense, the key point to prevent infection is to boost the immunity of humans.
The type of required immunity in case of nCoV should be both anti-viral and anti-bacterial in nature.
About this issue, I searched the answer in the Bible.
In 2013, I wrote the booklet, titled as 'PASSOVER DAY – Medical Interpretation by a Pathologist –' Copyright (C-2013-017025).
Among the contents, I published one related theme, 'Passover and Bitter Herb'. Its story is as follows:
Title: Passover and Bitter Herb
In Chapter 12: verse 8th of Exodus, the Bible says, "That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast".
Why did God direct the Israelite to eat the meat of sheep or goat with bitter herb?
As the Korean proverb of "Good drug is bitter", the pharmaceutical effects of many herbal medicines are due to bitter components. Drewnowski and Gomez-Carnezo reported on components of bitter taste (Am J of Clini Nutrition 2000;72:1424-35). The known chemical components of bitter taste are phenol, isoflavonoid, flavonoid, terpenes, glucosinolate, tannin, and et al. These chemicals have bactericidal, antioxidant, and antitumor effects. Herein we can guess the role of the bitter herb on Passover day night against infection.
When I went through military training on the mountain, there was a disposable toilet for soldiers. This toilet is simply made of one bottle with an entrance for receiving urine. The toilet bottle entrance is sealed by filter net. The filter net is covered by many leaves of pine tree. The leaf of pine tree is rich in phenol, which has a bactericidal effect on bacteria in urine and prevents a bad smell.
Many references mentioned the bitter herbs on Passover day night to probably be chicory and dandelion.
The alcohol extract of the root of chicory has an anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial effect.
Chicory also has antiviral activity and its ability to boost the immune system.
Dandelion is also antipyretic and used as diuretic and digestive drug. It is also used to treat jaundice and chronic disorder of the kidney. Dandelion leaves are rich in vitamin C. As we know, vitamin C is known to be one of the first remedy in common cold.
In summary, the bitter herbs on Passover day-night seemed to play a pivotal role in anti-infectivity and boosting immunity.
In this context, even in case of 2019-nCoV infection, the key component of our daily food should contain bitter herbs or vegetables, such as chicory, dandelion, perilla leaf, etc.