REVIEW article

Front. Pharmacol.

Sec. Ethnopharmacology

Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphar.2025.1588037

Food and Medicine Homology: a Potential Nutritional Intervention Strategy for Post-acute COVID-19 Syndrome

Provisionally accepted
Zhan LiZhan Li1Yingqi LiuYingqi Liu1Wei DingWei Ding1Yue LiuYue Liu1Wang LiWang Li2Shanshan GuanShanshan Guan1Xianjun LiuXianjun Liu1Guizhen WangGuizhen Wang1Qiong LiuQiong Liu1Chunwa JiangChunwa Jiang1Xinli PengXinli Peng1Hao LiHao Li1Zhandong LiZhandong Li1*Jing LiJing Li3*
  • 1Jilin Engineering Normal University, Changchun, China
  • 2Jilin Agriculture University, Changchun, Jilin Province, China
  • 3BaiCheng Normal University, Baicheng, China

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After recovering from severe acute respiratory syndrome of coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) acute infection, some patients with corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) still are affected by post-acute COVID-19 syndrome (PACS). Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has played an important role in the recovery period of COVID-19. As a unique type of Chinese botanical drugs, foods with property of food and medicine homology (FMH) has the dual characteristics of drug and food, which has advantages over usual drugs in safety and daily application. This review analyzed a total of 290 peer-reviewed publications on the progress of dozens of formulas and single botanical drugs, which were systematically collected from the electronic scientific databases, including PubMed, Web of Science, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), as well as other literature sources, such as classic Chinese medicine books. The symptoms of PACS and the advancements in the application of FMH foods in PACS intervention are summarized, and the challenges in the regulatory characteristics and food safety are further discussed. It is expected that the application of FMH foods would bring new opportunity for the treatment and daily intervention of PACS, and this review provides a foundation for the development of PACS intervention foods.

Keywords: food and medicine homology1, post-acute COVID-19 syndrome2, food intervention3, Food safety4, Food development5

Received: 15 Mar 2025; Accepted: 11 Jun 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Li, Liu, Ding, Liu, Li, Guan, Liu, Wang, Liu, Jiang, Peng, Li, Li and Li. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence:
Zhandong Li, Jilin Engineering Normal University, Changchun, China
Jing Li, BaiCheng Normal University, Baicheng, 137099, China

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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