Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), a comprehensive system that plays a key role in the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases is now available in Kenya.
Some of these Chinese herbal medicines manufactured by Jiangyin Tianjiang Pharmaceutical Company Ltd, are now available in Kenya after obtaining certification from the national drug regulator, the Pharmacy and Poisons Board.
In China, the Covid-19 pandemic is now under control due to government strong measure, public surveillance, and utilization of both Conventional Western Medicine (CWM) and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM).
PPB’s Director of product registration and Evaluation, Dr Ronald Inyangala, said three Chinese herbals have been registered and a fourth local herbal product is in the process of registration.
“We have gotten feedback from people who had used the product and they have felt better after using them but we have yet to conduct a study on the same,” he said .
According to the local distributing agent, XRP Medical Kenya Limited, two herbal products, the Healthouself Formular 3 and Healthouself Formular 5 formulated to boost immunity and optimized for viral pneumonia treatment and management have been in the country for eight months.
The company’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr Henry Cui said the two herbal medicines have been key in the prevention, treatment and control of various viral pneumonia infections worldwide, and have no known side effects.
“The ingredients found in the two herbal medicines have been used as a complementary prevention therapy, alongside other treatment options to manage SARS-COV-2 in China,” Cui said.
A box of Healthouself Formular 3 which is retailing at Sh 2,500 is mainly used for prevention against flu, colds and nosocomial infections and plays a powerful role in strengthening the immunity. It is recommended for people who are prone to infections including colds and flu.
Healthouself formular 5 retails at Sh 4, 400, and is known to contain anti-viral, anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory benefits. It is also useful in the treatment of severe acute respiratory infections especially those that are zoonotic.
“Kenyans who have been using the treatment and prevention model of the two products has been effective. “We are hoping to make the products more available in East Africa and eventually across the continent,” the Chief Executive Officer said.
Cui further said that the two products have been used in China to reduce cases of acute respiratory infections by boosting human immunity.
Chinese medics have relied on joint consultations between TCM and Western medicine experts in treating Covid-19 and have been able to manage to put the Covid-19 pandemic under control after a research team of medical experts led by Zhang Boli used TCM (traditional Chinese medicine)
Several provinces in China have been following TCM-based prevention and treatment plans for Covid-19, with remarkable results.
Last year in May, the World Health Organization (WHO) welcomed innovations around the world including repurposing drugs, traditional medicines and developing new therapies in the search for potential treatments for Covid-19.
By Wangari Ndirangu
