Zhong Nanshan, President of the Chinese Medical Association, stated at the recent "Industry-Academia Alliance for the Prevention and Treatment of Viral Infectious Diseases with Traditional Chinese Medicine" held in Hangzhou that the advantage of using TCM for preventing and treating viral infectious diseases is its ability to holistically regulate the body's functions. The Chinese herbal medicine Banlangen not only directly inhibits viruses but also has a comprehensive effect through multiple pathways, such as on immunity, endocrine systems, and molecular mechanisms.
The "Industry-Academia Alliance for the Prevention and Treatment of Viral Infectious Diseases with Traditional Chinese Medicine" concluded on the 6th after public discussions and internal exchanges. During the conference, Academician Zhong Nanshan said that TCM theory does not have modern names like avian flu or hand, foot, and mouth disease, but TCM has a history of over two thousand years of fighting infectious diseases, accumulating a wealth of clinical diagnostic techniques and rich clinical experience. Particularly during the 2003 SARS epidemic, TCM played a crucial role in controlling the outbreak.
Li Lianda, an expert from the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, also pointed out that the antiviral effect of Banlangen may also lie in its ability to effectively compete for receptors on the membranes of normal cells that viruses use to invade, preventing the virus from entering the cells. Banlangen provides a reliable "protective layer" for human cells, thereby shielding them from viral invasion.
Li Lianda stated that the biggest challenge in preventing and treating viral infectious diseases like influenza and avian flu is their frequent mutations. Drug development can only target existing viruses, and the research and development cycle is too long to keep up with the speed of viral mutation. Unlike Western antiviral drugs, Chinese herbal medicines contain many more active ingredients than chemical drugs.