Kesuting syrup Photo: screenshot

Medical supervision authorities in Southwest China's Guizhou Province have started investigating claims that two Miao ethnic minority medicines produced in the province have proven effective in treating COVID-19, after it sparked widespread discussion online. 

The Guizhou Medical Products Administration launched an investigation into Kesuting syrup and Keqing capsule, after they were said to be effective in treating mild and normal COVID-19 patients.

Several rounds of trials showed that the two traditional Chinese medicines produced by Guizhou Bailing Group Pharmaceutical could help COVID-19 patients recover and make them go from COVID-19 positive to negative, and shorten the duration of coughing, the company said in an article on Monday. 

However, the article could not be found any more on its website as of press time. 

Clinical trials by the Institute of Chinese Materia Medica at the Chinese Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences also proved that the two medicines showed a clear capacity for suppressing the novel coronavirus. The research result was published in the Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae on March4.

The two medicines can alleviate the lung disease caused by COVID-19 infections, adjust physical immunity and reduce the harm done by the virus on the lungs, according to the research. 

After the Guizhou pharmaceutical company released the report, it triggered widespread controversy online, with many Chinese netizens holding a "cautious" attitude on the effectiveness of traditional Chinese medicine in treating COVID-19. 

Some said the effectiveness of the Miao ethnic minority medicines on COVID-19 seemed like self-promotion, but some cautiously agreed it could alleviate pulmonary disease, one of the many symptoms of COVID-19.

Cui Yongqiang, a professor from Guang'anmen Hospital affiliated with the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences in Beijing, told the Global Times that the two medicines can be effective in reducing symptoms of COVID-19 infections if patients suffer from serious pulmonary disease, but he stressed that TCM cannot directly kill the novel coronavirus. 

"It is true that TCM can alleviate clinical symptoms through improving the entire physical immune system. But we cannot exaggerate its functions in treating COVID-19," Cui said. 

Guizhou Bailing Group Pharmaceutical said nine medicines were pitched from a selection of nearly 200 medicines, while the two in question were proven to be effective in treating COVID-19.

The company said it was mulling making an application to China's Center for Drug Evaluation (CDE) to adjust its drug instructions.

Previously, Lianhuaqingwen capsules, which were developed to tackle the SARS outbreak in 2003, were believed to be effective in treating light cases of novel coronavirus pneumonia. 

According to Zhang Boli, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering and one of the top-level expert-consultants in the fight against the epidemic in Hubei Province, more than 90 percent of COVID-19 patients in China used TCM during their treatment, including 61,000 in hardest-hit Wuhan, and it prevented the patients' conditions from becoming critical.