China has donated 100,000 boxes of Lianhua Qingwen — a compound of herbal medicine that has been proved effective for treating COVID-19 patients — to Italy to help treat its patients there, experts said.

The traditional Chinese medicine, which is said to kill viruses and remove lung heat, is suitable for clinical treatment of COVID-19 patients with a serious fever and constipation, Zhang Boli, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and president of Tianjin University of TCM, said on Monday at a news conference held in Wuhan by the State Council Information Office.

After the first batch, Italy has requested for another 100,000 boxes of the Chinese medicine, Zhang said, adding that Lianhua Qingwen was developed during the SARS epidemic in 2003 by Wu Yiling, also an academician of the academy.