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Medicinal plants known and used since ancient times are still commonly used, and they have remarkable importance in national and international trade. According to the World Health Organization data, 80% of the population of developing countries use mostly medicinal plants for their primary healthcare needs. Also, modern pharmacopoeias still contain at least 25% of drugs derived from plants and many others which are synthetic analogues built on prototype compounds isolated from plants. Medicinal plants are used directly as therapeutic agents, but also as starting materials for the synthesis of drugs or as models for pharmacologically active compounds. In this respect, they have an important role for pharmacological research and drug development. The traditional uses of medicinal plants in the world are documented by ethnobotanical studies. Ethnobotanical/ethnopharmacological studies are increasing the possibilities of identifying new molecules instead of random screening.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of plants used in the formulations of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), which were also used in clinical trials to treat patients with the novel coronavirus COVID-19, and to assess their effects on the cardiovascular system. Methods: A literature review of PubMed, ResearchGate, ScienceDirect, the Cochrane Library, and TCM monographs was conducted and the effects of the plants on the cardiovascular system and the mechanisms of action in COVID-19 treatment were evaluated. Results: The mechanism of action, cardiovascular effects, and possible toxicity of 10 plants frequently found in TCM formulations that were used in the clinical treatment of COVID-19 were examined. Conclusion: TCM formulations that had been originally developed for earlier viral diseases have been used in COVID-19 treatment. Despite the effectiveness seen in laboratory and animal studies with the most commonly used plants in these formulations, the clinical studies are currently insufficient according to standard operating procedures. More clinical studies are needed to understand the safe clinical use of traditional plants.

Ferula pisidica is a novel endemic species found in the vicinity of Karaman province of inner Mediterranean Region of Turkey. F. pisidica is morphologically distinct from F. haussknechtii and F. brevipedicellata by habit, sheaths, terminal leaf lobes, and mericarp size as well as by chemotaxonomic differences. The new species is described by morphological, carpological, ecological and phytochemical characteristics. Its relationships with the other related species and proposed conservation status will be reviewed.