Use of folk medicine in the prevention of Covid-19

The demand for popular medicine has been recurrent, in which medicinal plants are consumed as therapeutic agents in the prevention of various symptoms and diseases. The objective of this study was to analyze the use of natural products from popular medicine during the pandemic, in the prevention of infection and symptoms of COVID-19. A descriptive cross-sectional observational study was carried out. The method of consecutive recruitment of participants (Snowball) was used as a sampling process, through a questionnaire distributed nationally on social media for the population over 18 years of age, from September 2021 to March 2022. Pearson's chi-square test and/or Fisher's exact test were used for statistical analysis, considering 95% confidence intervals and a significance level of 5% (p < 0.05). A total of 1022 people participated in this study. Variables such as gender, education, age, area of residence and geographic region significantly influenced the search for and consumption of products based on medicinal plants. The majority of the population used natural products based on medicinal plants in the period, felt an improvement in health when consuming them and indicated their use for the prevention of COVID-19 and associated symptoms. However, the risk of toxicity from incorrect use and drug interactions deserves attention, requiring further studies.