Profile on the Herb Use for the Prevention of COVID-19 Infection in the Gayo Lues Community - Indonesia

Introduction: Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious respiratory disease with a global impact in all fields and increases mortality rates worldwide. Currently, there is no specific pharmacological therapy to fight this disease hence, preventive measures and supportive therapy are needed by increasing the community immune system using health supplements and herbal ingredients/traditional medicines.Objective: Meanwhile, herbal use during the pandemic is widespread, such as in the Gayo area, Central Aceh in Indonesia. This study aims to profile the use of herbal medicines for the prevention of COVID-19 infection in the Gayo Lues Regency community. Furthermore, the data were collected by filling out an online questionnaire (google form) and were analyzed using the univariate analysis.Methods: This is a descriptive observational study with a cross-sectional approach, and the sample used consisted of 379 respondents selected using probability and simple random sampling methods.Results: The results showed that up to 214 (56.5%) respondents used herbs for the prevention of COVID-19 infection with the majority being male (55.6%), aged 26-35 years (34.6%), and self-employed 926.6%). Moreover, the most widely used herb was ginger (Zingiber officinale) 28.89%, while information on the usage was majorly from the family 45.8%. The most predominant method of use was by boiling and drinking 55.1%, and the source was majorly from plants 52.7%.Conclusion: Based on the results, the majority of the Gayo Lues - Indonesia community uses herbs for COVID-19 prevention.