The National Institute of
Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD) says its findings have shown
that “COVID Organics”, the herb produced by Madagascar, cannot effectively cure
coronavirus.
The drug, which is branded as
herbal tea, was launched on April 20, with its main ingredient being sweet
wormwood (Artemisia annua), a plant of Asian origin from where the antimalarial
drug, artemisinin, came.
In May, Madagascar donated some
of the products to Nigeria through Guinea-Bissau.
When President Muhammadu Buhari
received portions of the drug from Umaro Sissoco Embalo, his Guinea Bissau
counterpart, the Nigerian leader directed that the drug must be verified before
use.
“We have our institutions,
systems and processes in the country. Any such formulations should be sent to
them for verification. I will not put it to use without the endorsement of our
institutions,” Buhari had said.
On Sunday, the federal government
agency said it subjected the herb to scientific analysis and discovered that it
is not as potent as claimed.
“Safety studies show that COVID
ORGANICS (CVO) products do not alter the normal physiology of the animals,” it
said in its report.
“CVO caused a significant
decrease in the platelet counts although the values are within the
physiological range for Wistar rats.
“The increase in alkaline
phosphatase observed in the CVO female group may indicate a cause of concern
although the values are within the physiological ranges for Wistar rats and
this was not observed in the organs.
“On the whole CVO can be considered
safe based on the model used which did not cover other routes of
administration, effects of long-term use, or organ histological evaluation of
the test systems.
“CVO reduced cough frequency with
the maximum dose tested producing an effect equivalent to that produced by the
centrally acting cough-suppressant, dihydrocodeine.
“To further characterise this
product based on its effect on the respiratory tract, it will be important to
investigate its effect on tracheal mucus expectoration.
“While CVO dose-dependently
reduced general febrile response, the effect was not sustained and was less
than for indomethacin.”
Obi Adigwe, director-general of NIPRD, accused Madagascar of withholding
valuable information.
“Well, I cannot tell you what
they have done. I can only tell you what we have done here,” he told reporters.
“The analysis we gave in our
report is more detailed than anything that had come from their country. They
are hiding the analysis of their own product. If you go online, you cannot get
the level of analysis that we gave.”
The World Health Organisation
(WHO) had initially warned countries against adopting the product because “it
has not been taken through tests to see its efficacy”.
“We are concerned that touting
this product as a preventive measure might then make people feel safe,”
Matshidiso Moeti, WHO’s head in Africa, had said.
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