Kushta Jast, a conventional herbo-mineral immunity booster tonic: potential use in COVID-19

Kushta Jast (KJ) is a unique herbo-mineral preparation of the Unani System of Medicine (USM) which is prepared by taklis (calcination) and prescribed by the practitioners of USM for the treatment of various ailments, including the respiratory ailments. It is used as muqawwi (tonic) to boost the immunity (Muqawwi-i-badan), and can increase the phagocyte activity of the immune cells, thereby, promoting the growth and spread of lymphocytes and increasing circulating antibodies to neutralize a harmful pathogen and reduce humma or body fever (Dafi‘-i-humma). Incidentally, the principal mineral component of KJ, zinc, has been widely acknowledged for its beneficial influence on the immune function, and decrease the risk of developing serious respiratory illnesses. In this manuscript, we provide a glimpse of the literature on KJ and postulate its potential beneficial effects in respiratory infections, including COVID-19.