Preface

The year 2020 has posed a grave challenge for humankind in the form of a new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2. The outbreaks witnessed by the world back in 2002 and 2012 due to SARS and MERS, respectively, now appear to be insignificant in front of the current pandemic. The virus was officially named coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) by WHO in March 2020, after due diligence of the first case being reported in Wuhan, Province of China. This pandemic has divided the current age into two eras: pre-COVID-19 and post-COVID-19, in every respect, some of which are obvious immediately, like, healthcare and finance, while others, like education and politics, are yet to be revealed. All these changes are primarily adaptive, and yet we are still not well-adapted to this selection pressure. The world as one entity has stood up in solidarity to face this challenge in all spheres of life, healthcare, and medicine being at the forefront. While on field, it is the medical personnel who are relentlessly fighting an apparently never-ending battle against COVID-19. In the laboratories, it is the scientists putting their heart and soul to find a solution to end this battle that is draining humankind both physically and emotionally.

We still do not have a cure for COVID-19 despite the fact that the etiology and pathology of this disease have been thoroughly worked out. Modern medicine is grappling to cope with the current situation with no specific treatment against COVID-19. Our hopes for the re-purposed modern medicines fell flat with unfavorable outcomes of clinical trials conducted involving them. So, after a transient flash of hope for a potential cure for COVID-19, we are apparently, still in the darkness as at the beginning of this year. Alternative medicines are coming up with promising reports but establishing a medicine from an alternative system is difficult with no standard operating protocols to do so in place.

The ancient Indian medicinal system, Ayurveda, is at the core of the working mandate of Patanjali Research Institute (PRI), governed by Patanjali Research Foundation Trust (PRFT), Haridwar, India. PRFT has been following the rapid evolution of COVID-19 very closely right from the day when the first case was reported. Probably, that is the reason, today, PRFT can confidently declare that it has found a way to fight COVID-19, although the solution is only recognized as an immunity booster, preliminary and interim outcomes from surveys, observational clinical studies, and completed and continuing clinical trials speak more favorably towards this solution being a cure rather than a mere prophylactic in the form of an immunity booster. This book is a chronicle of this journey of PRFT from fields (medicinal herbs) to clinics (medicines being used in clinical trials) via research laboratories at Patanjali Research Institute (PRI) for developing solutions for COVID-19. Additionally, this work is also expected to be a capstone to guide how one can develop traditional medicines into forms acceptable by modern medical practitioners worldwide.

PRFT has been actively involved in finding a cure for COVID-19 since WHO expressed its concern last January, even before declaring this to be an outbreak. In fact, computational studies from PRFT after coming into the public domain as pre-prints triggered several groups to take up similar studies that have now resulted in a huge database of phytochemicals with predicted antiviral potentials against SARS-CoV-2. Even before this, revered Swami Ramdev Ji recommended the use of decoctions of herbs (which were later used in these medicines) as a home remedy for protection against COVID-19. These recommendations were based on Ayurvedic medicines prescribed for ailments with corresponding etiologies. So, it is evident that what we have offered humankind in the form of a Coronil kit is the outcome of our deep-rooted traditional scientific knowledge. We believe that this piece of work would be like a

beacon to whosoever wishes to develop our ancient Ayurvedic prescriptions into a form acceptable to the practitioners of modern medicine.