COVID-19: Professor of Pharmacognosy recommends herbal medicine as lifeline therapeutics

As lifeline therapeutics to COVID-19, a professor of Pharmacognosy and ex-Acting Vice-Chancellor of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife in Osun, Anthony Elujoba, said on Wednesday that herbal medicine should be explored as solution to the pandemic.

He said since the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the federal agencies including the Nigeria Institute of Medical Research; the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and some Nigerian universities had invested in herbal medicines in the past, `it is now time to explore the dividends of their investments.’’

“It is time to explore the dividends of their investments by using the products of their investment in herbal medicine to offer solution to the pandemic,’’ Elujoba said in a statement.

Elujoba, according to wikipedia, is fondly referred to as “village chemist” because of his involvement in research into medicinal plants.

Persecondnews recalls that Madagascar has launched a drink, dubbed “Miracle Drink’’ as a cure and prevention of coronavirus infection.

At the launch of the product on Monday in Antananarivo, President Andry Rajoelina, drank a bottle of the drink called “Covid Organics” or CVO.

The country’s Institut Malgache de Recherches Appliquées (IMRA) produced the drink from the local plant — Artemisia annua or sweet wormwood.

It is a green leafy plant that emits a striking odor and is also used for malaria.

Rajoelina said the drink is effective against the virus as it strengthens the body’s immune system.

Also, a professor of Pharmacognosy from the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN), who is also the Chairman of the Imo State Taskforce on COVID-19, Prof. Maurice Iwu, had presented plant-based patented treatment for COVID-19 to the Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, early this year.

The renowned don, who did a research into the medicinal value of bitter kola, said the treatment was also being tested in United States.

“Luckily, the drug is a safe one. It is drug already in use. We are repurposing it for this particular purpose. So when we finish studying and testing that we are doing, I think the drug will come up in line very soon,” he said.

Elujoba, therefore, called on the Federal Government to explore the opportunities offered by diverse plants in the country to treat victims of coronavirus.

Coronavirus, which started in Wuhan, China in late 2019,  has killed thousands of people globally and four months after there is no known cure for it.

He also advised the Federal Government to create isolation/treatment centres where patients who choose to be treated with alternative medicine would be attended to all over the country.

Elujoba, however, said alternative medicine should not be confused with witchcraft and occultism.

He argued that the spread and death rate occasioned by coronavirus should “push us to alternative actions before it is too late.”

“We read on a daily basis testimonies of several patients from here and elsewhere of COVID-19 including chief executives in governments using or talking about herbal options, one president has spoken publicly on herbal cure.

“It is time for dividends of the past expenditures on herbal development and time to start proactive herbal research on these emerging diseases,’’ the professor said.