Despite some preliminary studies of the available herbal medicine preparations and their curative effects on COVID-19, experts still fear that unproper use of such homemade medicines could do more harm than good to people relying on unproven alternatives of questionable efficacy. The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety of herbal medicines used for respiratory system disorders in the Pasvalys district during the COVID-19 pandemic in Lithuania. An archival source was also studied, looking for possible recipes for the treatment and prevention of respiratory diseases in Lithuanian traditional medicine, emphasizing the safety guidelines. The survey was conducted using the deep interview method. The respondents mentioned 60 species of medicinal plants from 29 different families used for the treatment and prevention of respiratory system disorders (for cough mostly, 51.70% of all indications). Twenty eight out of 60 plant species were not included in the European Medicines Agency monographs and only 50% of all included species were used as indicated by the European Medicines Agency for respiratory system disorders. The trends in the ethnopharmacological choices of modern consumers and the analysis of archival sources can be a great source of ideas for new herbal-based pharmaceutical preparations for COVID-19 symptoms in Lithuania considering the safety recommendations.
Keywords: COVID-19; Lithuania; herbal medicine; respiratory system disorders.