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THERAPIES & TRADITIONS · GUIDE

TCM and COVID-19: What Was Used and What the Evidence Shows

What trials and reviews found for Chinese herbal medicine and Lianhua Qingwen in COVID-19, from mild illness to long COVID, with the limits of the research and no preventive claims.

Content last updated . This page has not been medically reviewed.

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If you or someone you care for is unwell

Trouble breathing, chest pain, confusion or blue lips need urgent medical care; in the United States call 911. This page is information only. It does not suggest replacing or delaying care, vaccines or prescribed treatments with herbs.

Short answer

During the pandemic, Chinese herbal products were studied mostly as add-ons to usual care. Some trials, mainly Lianhua Qingwen capsules, found shorter symptom duration in mild or moderate illness. Reviews rate much of the research as limited by design and quality, and none of what we read shows that these products reduce deaths. Labels used below: established, promising but limited, mixed, insufficient evidence.

What was studied

Most trials tested a named herbal product or formula added to standard care, compared with standard care alone. Our page on Lianhua Qingwen covers its origins and regulatory status. This page covers the COVID-19 evidence, and we do not list ingredients because we did not read a source for them.

Evidence by question

5 findings · 4 supported · 1 limited or unclearThe colour follows the evidence label on each card.

  1. Lianhua Qingwen added to usual care in confirmed COVID-19

    Promising but limited

    In a multicenter open-label trial of 284 patients, symptom recovery was 91.5% vs 82.4%, and median time to recovery was 7 vs 10 days; conversion to severe disease and viral tests did not differ [1]

  2. Lianhua Qingwen in asymptomatic infection

    Promising but limited

    In 120 participants compared with isolated observation (no placebo), nucleic-acid negativity was higher and time to negativity shorter (7.5 vs 14.5 days) [2]

  3. Many herbal and traditional products compared

    Promising but limited

    A 2026 network meta-analysis of 155 trials found Lianhua Qingwen reduced time to symptom resolution by 2.82 days (rated high certainty by its authors) but found no compelling evidence that any traditional product reduced hospital admission or death across all patients [3]

  4. Prevention

    Insufficient evidence

    A 2023 meta-analysis of 17 studies (47,351 people) reported fewer COVID-19 cases with Chinese herbal medicine (RR 0.24), but certainty was moderate for COVID-19 incidence in randomized trials and low or very low for other outcomes [4]

  5. Long COVID

    Promising but limited

    A 2025 meta-analysis of 10 trials (2,401 patients) found no statistically significant change in the main symptom score, with high heterogeneity (I2 92%), but better chest tightness and insomnia relief [5]

Why the label is cautious

  • Trial design. The 284-patient trial was open-label, so patients and doctors knew who got the capsules. [1] The asymptomatic trial compared capsules with observation. [2] Expectation can affect symptom reports in both designs.
  • Quality. An appraisal of 64 randomized trials of Chinese medicine for COVID-19 rated 27 as high risk of bias, 26 as having some concerns and 11 as low risk; trials published in Chinese were of significantly worse quality than those in English. [6]
  • Review quality. An overview of 17 meta-analyses judged their methodological quality moderate to poor, and of 89 outcomes only one was graded high quality. [7]
  • Positive results in similar reviews. A 2022 meta-analysis of 13 trials conducted in China reported benefits but said biases mean better-designed studies are needed. [8] More background on this problem is in quality of TCM clinical trials.
  • Outcomes. Time to symptom relief is a smaller claim than preventing hospital stays or deaths; the large network review found no compelling evidence for the latter. [3]

Long COVID

A second long COVID review (7 trials, 1,519 patients) reported lower fatigue and depression scores, but only one trial had low overall risk of bias. [9] We treat this as early, low-certainty evidence. Persistent symptoms deserve a medical assessment, not only a herb.

What WHO said

WHO's Africa office said in 2020 that medicines derived from traditional practice still need rigorous clinical trials to establish efficacy and safety. [11] For colds and flu in general see TCM for colds and flu.

Frequently asked questions

Does Lianhua Qingwen treat COVID-19?

Trials found shorter symptom duration when it was added to usual care, but many were open-label and a major review found no compelling evidence of fewer deaths or hospital stays across patients. [1][3]

Can Chinese medicine prevent COVID-19?

A meta-analysis reported fewer cases, but certainty for most outcomes was low or very low. [4] We treat prevention as unproven.

Is there evidence for Chinese herbs in long COVID?

Reviews report possible help for some symptoms such as chest tightness and insomnia, with the main symptom score not statistically significant and wide variation between trials. [5]

Were these studies reliable?

Quality is uneven. An appraisal of 64 trials found many at high risk of bias, with Chinese-language trials weaker. [6]

Is it safe to combine herbs with COVID-19 medicines?

We did not find a source on specific combinations. NCCIH warns that some Chinese herbal products contain undeclared drugs. [10] Ask a pharmacist or clinician first.

More details: evidence, limits and cautions

The details behind this page: cautions, limits of the evidence and where sources disagree. Open any note to read it.

Safety
In the Lianhua Qingwen trials we read, no serious adverse events were reported. [1][2] The 2026 network review found high to moderate certainty that Lianhua Qingwen likely did not increase side effects that led to stopping treatment. [3] That does not make any herb safe for everyone: herbal products can be contaminated or interact with medicines, as NCCIH notes. [10] See Chinese herbal products: quality and interactions and TCM in pregnancy. Tell your clinician about every product you use.
References
  1. Efficacy and safety of Lianhuaqingwen capsules, a repurposed Chinese herb, in patients with coronavirus disease 2019: A multicenter, prospective, randomized controlled trial. Phytomedicine : international journal of phytotherapy and phytopharmacology 2021. PubMed 33867046. Read 2026-10-22.
  2. Effectiveness of Lianhua Qingwen Capsule in Treatment of Asymptomatic COVID-19 Patients: A Randomized, Controlled Multicenter Trial. Journal of integrative and complementary medicine 2022. PubMed 36342811. Read 2026-10-22.
  3. Traditional, complementary, and integrative medicine therapies for mild/moderate acute COVID-19: a systematic review and network meta-analysis. Phytomedicine : international journal of phytotherapy and phytopharmacology 2026. PubMed 42735469. Read 2026-10-22.
  4. An updated meta-analysis of Chinese herbal medicine for the prevention of COVID-19 based on Western-Eastern medicine. Frontiers in pharmacology 2023. PubMed 38044944. Read 2026-10-22.
  5. Efficacy and safety of traditional Chinese medicine for post-COVID-19 syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of translational medicine 2025. PubMed 40671020. Read 2026-10-22.
  6. Critical quality appraisal of randomized controlled trials with traditional Chinese medicines for the coronavirus disease 2019. Phytomedicine : international journal of phytotherapy and phytopharmacology 2023. PubMed 37647671. Read 2026-10-22.
  7. Traditional Chinese medicine treatment for COVID-19: An overview of systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Journal of integrative medicine 2022. PubMed 35811240. Read 2026-10-22.
  8. A Meta-Analysis of 13 Randomized Trials on Traditional Chinese Medicine as Adjunctive Therapy for COVID-19: Novel Insights into Lianhua Qingwen. BioMed research international 2022. PubMed 36349317. Read 2026-10-22.
  9. Chinese herbal medicine for dyspnea and persistent symptoms of long COVID: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Journal of integrative medicine 2025. PubMed 39971694. Read 2026-10-22.
  10. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NIH). Traditional Chinese Medicine: What You Need To Know (last updated April 2019). Read 2026-10-22.
  11. WHO Regional Office for Africa. WHO supports scientifically-proven traditional medicine (4 May 2020). Read 2026-10-22.
Education, not medical advice. This page is for general information. It does not diagnose or treat any condition and is not a substitute for care from a qualified health professional. Natural does not automatically mean safe. Ask a clinician or pharmacist before changing your care, especially if you take medication, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or have a health condition.