Guangdong Provincial Drug Administration Emergency Special Approval: 'Pneumonia No. 1 Formula' Toujie Quwen Granules Can be Used Clinically to Treat Patients With Mild and Suspected COVID-19

On February 8th, the official website of Guangdong Provincial Drug Administration released the latest news, agreeing to the application from Guangzhou Eighth People's Hospital to use the Toujie Quwen Granules (formerly known as "Pneumonia No. 1 Formula") in clinical settings at 30 designated hospitals for the treatment of COVID-19 patients across the province.

The notification stipulates that during the epidemic period, designated hospitals for the treatment of COVID-19 in Guangdong Province are allowed to directly dispense and use the Toujie Quwen Granules according to clinical needs, without the need to submit a dispensing application to the Guangdong Provincial Drug Administration. For non-designated hospitals that apply for dispensing and use of the Toujie Quwen Granules, the Guangdong Provincial Drug Administration will give priority approval, and the dispensed medical institutions can directly apply to the entrusted manufacturing enterprise, Guangdong Yifang Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., for delivery.

Toujie Quwen Granules is a clinical prescription based on the experience of Tan Xinghua, the chief physician of traditional Chinese medicine department at Guangzhou Eighth People's Hospital. Guided by the theory of febrile diseases, this prescription was formulated to treat COVID-19. The principles of traditional Chinese medicine used in its treatment are "clearing heat and detoxifying, dispelling wind and releasing the exterior, and nourishing qi and yin." In clinical applications, "Pneumonia No. 1 Formula" was used to treat 50 confirmed cases of mild COVID-19. After one week of clinical observation, all patients' body temperatures returned to normal, 50% of patients' cough symptoms disappeared, and none of the patients progressed to severe cases. Toujie Quwen Granules can significantly improve the clinical symptoms of mild COVID-19 and show a trend of reducing the occurrence of severe pneumonia, demonstrating good clinical value.

According to reports, Guangdong Yifang Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. assisted Guangzhou Eighth People's Hospital in applying for hospital preparations of Toujie Quwen Granules and is responsible for its preparation. Currently, the entrustment period for this hospital preparation expires on April 3, 2020, and the validity period of the preparation is tentatively set at 6 months.

The production cycle of Toujie Quwen Granules is approximately one week, involving a total of 16 traditional Chinese medicinal ingredients, including forsythia, cremastra appendiculata, honeysuckle, scutellaria, indigo naturalis, among others.

Forsythia is the dried fruit of the forsythia plant belonging to the Oleaceae family. It possesses the effects of clearing heat and detoxifying, dissipating swelling and resolving nodules, as well as dispelling wind-heat. It is one of the commonly used traditional Chinese medicines in clinical practice and is mainly produced in regions such as Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Henan in China. The stems and leaves of forsythia have a bitter taste and a cold nature, and their main function is to clear heat and detoxify, particularly effective in treating heat accumulation in the heart and lungs.

Cremastra appendiculata is the pseudobulb of the orchids Cremastra appendiculata or Pleione bulbocodioides. The plant Cremastra appendiculata is distributed from the Yellow River basin to southwestern and southern China, while Pleione bulbocodioides is distributed in eastern, central-southern China, as well as Shaanxi and Gansu provinces. It has the effects of clearing heat and detoxifying, dissipating swelling and resolving nodules, and is mainly used to treat carbuncles, malignant sores, scrofula, tuberculosis, sore throat, and bites from snakes and insects.

Honeysuckle is the flower of the plant Lonicera japonica belonging to the Caprifoliaceae family. It is named honeysuckle because it blooms white initially and then turns yellow. Honeysuckle possesses various effects such as clearing heat and detoxifying, antibacterial and antiviral properties, anti-allergic activity, blood sugar and lipid-lowering effects, antioxidant properties, and anti-tumor activity. It is widely distributed in Henan, Shandong, Shaanxi, Hebei, Zhejiang, and other provinces, with Shandong and Henan being its main production areas. There are many wild varieties, and it has a long history of cultivation.

Scutellaria baicalensis, also known as shancha root or tugancha root, is a perennial herb belonging to the genus Scutellaria in the Lamiaceae family. It has fleshy, thick rhizomes and is produced in Heilongjiang, Liaoning, Inner Mongolia, Hebei, Henan, Gansu, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Shandong, Sichuan, and other regions. It can be cultivated in most provinces in northern China. The roots of Scutellaria baicalensis are used medicinally. They have a bitter taste and a cold nature, and possess effects such as clearing heat and drying dampness, purging fire and detoxifying, stopping bleeding, and calming the fetus. They are mainly used to treat warm-heat diseases, upper respiratory tract infections, lung heat cough, damp-heat jaundice, pneumonia, dysentery, hemoptysis, red eyes, fetal restlessness, hypertension, carbuncles, and boils.

Indigo naturalis is mainly used to treat heat-toxin-induced skin eruptions, erysipelas, sore throat, mouth and tongue sores, carbuncles, and other swollen and toxic conditions. In recent years, it has been widely used in clinical practice, not only for the aforementioned conditions but also for treating phlegm-heat stagnation in the lungs and sticky, yellow phlegm. There are many varieties of Indigo naturalis available for sale in different regions of China, and they come from various plant sources. The main plant sources includeStrobilanthes cusia (a member of the Acanthaceae family), Isatis indigotica (a member of the Brassicaceae family, also known as Isatis tinctoria or daqingye), Isatis indigotica fortunei (also known as daqing), Polygonum tinctorium (a member of the Polygonaceae family, also known as indigo plant), and Indigofera tinctoria (a member of the Fabaceae family). The leaves of these plants are all used as Indigo naturalis, and except for Indigofera tinctoria, their roots can also be used as Banlangen (Isatis root).

The traditional Chinese medicinal ingredients used in Toujie Quwen Granules are basically traditional and commonly used, with many of them having the effect of clearing heat and detoxifying. Currently, "Pneumonia No. 1 Formula" Toujie Quwen Granules are limited to the treatment of mild confirmed and suspected patients and should not be used as a preventive medicine. It is also only an emergency hospital preparation specially approved by the Guangdong Provincial Drug Administration and cannot be used in other regions for the time being.

Reference Materials:

[1] Notice of the Guangdong Provincial Drug Administration, Guangdong Provincial Health Commission, and Guangdong Provincial Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine on the Clinical Use Regulations of Toujie Quwen Granules (Formerly Known as "Pneumonia No. 1 Formula")

http://mpa.gd.gov.cn/zwgk/gzwj/content/post_2888223.html

[2] Latest News! "Pneumonia No. 1 Formula" Approved for Clinical Use - Southern Metropolis Daily

[3] Lu Junxian, Liang Ruixue, Lin Huibin. Research Progress on the Anti-Influenza Virus Effect of Honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica). Modern Research and Practice of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 2018, Issue 05: 77-81.

[4] Baidu Encyclopedia: https://baike.baidu.com/

About the Author

Xiaonisha, a food technology professional holding a Master's degree in Food Science, is currently employed at a prominent domestic pharmaceutical research and development company. Her primary focus lies in the development and research of nutritional foods, where she contributes her expertise and passion to create innovative products.