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Introduction: medicinal plants are a useful and accessible therapeutic resource to solve health problems. COVID-19 has been the most difficult health challenge that man has faced in the XXI century and to combat it he has resorted to all possible therapeutic options, including medicinal plants. Objective: to describe the use of medicinal plants against COVID-19 in the Municipality of Santa Clara. Methods: an exploratory descriptive study was carried out in Santa Clara, Villa Clara Province, during the months of January and February 2021. Random surveys were applied to people from three popular councils and the use of medicinal plants for this disease was investigated. The different treatment protocols proposed by the Ministry of Public Health and other scientific literature on the subject were reviewed in order to contrast the results obtained. Results: 60 people were surveyed, with a predominance of women and medium level of schooling. 55% referred to the use of the drug. Fifty-five percent reported the use of homemade or pharmaceutical phytopreparations for possible symptoms or as a preventive measure. The most commonly used plants were Aloe barbadensis (aloe vera), Plectranthus amboinicus (French oregano), Citrus aurantium (orange) and Allium cepa (onion). This coincides with that established in the treatment protocols proposed in Cuba from version 1.2. The review of scientific literature showed the proposal of the mentioned plants and others with the purpose of treating symptoms and raising people's immunity (or both). Conclusions: the population of Santa Clara employs medicinal plants and their preparations to prevent and treat symptoms suggestive of COVID-19 in correspondence with what has been established in Cuban treatment protocols. Bibliographic reviews corroborate these medicinal uses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The phytotherapy of various maladies affecting humans and animals includes a wide variety of plant preparations, traditionally effective. In Cuba, one of the most popular plants in pharmacopoeia is Pluchea carolinensis (beach sage). Various authors have reported this plant as anti- inflammatory, anti-pyretic, anti-allergic as well as liver-protector, anti-trombotic, anti-neoplasic, anti-ulcer, estrogenic, anti-diabetic, expectorant anti-bleeding and diuretic. The goal of the current work is to search possible antimicrobial activity of this plant. An in vitro study of different fractions of fresh leaves extracts of Pluchea carolinensis has demonstrated growth inhibition, not only of culture collection strains of pathogenic bacteria, Staphilococcus aureus ATCC 25923, Enterobacter faecalis ATCC 2912 y Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27851 and mycobacteria, Mycobacterium fortuitum ATCC 6842 y Mycobacterium sp. B3683 and MB 3683 but also of clinical isolates: Escherichia coli, Klebsiella sp. and Pseudomonas sp., from patients having pathologies of the respiratory tract. The Minimal Inhibitory Concentrations (MIC) for E. faecalis ATCC 2912 and Staphilococcus aureus ATCC 25923, as well as for Mycobacterium sp. MB3683 and Mycobacterium fortuitum ATCC6842 were 100 mg/mL, being 10 mg/mL for Mycobacterium sp. B3683. For Pseudomonas sp. 2043 and Escherichia coli 2072 the MICs were 100 mg/mL, whereas for Klebsiella sp. 2065 was 1.0 mg/mL . In contrast, MIC for the isolate Klebsiella sp. 2240 was 0.1 mg/mL. Since these isolates have shown multi resistance to antibiotics, the above results suggest that Pluchea carolinensis might be used as an alternative way to current medical antibiotic therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]