ABU Covid-19 herbal remedy meant to boost immunity
A team of professors searching for a remedy against COVID-19 has said their work is geared towards providing herbal cocktail that is beneficial as an immune boost in patients with the disease symptoms. A leader in the team, Professor Haruna Abdu Kaita made this clarification against the backdrop that cure for the novel disease is […]
Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) in Zaria
A team of professors searching for a remedy against COVID-19 has said their work is geared towards providing herbal cocktail that is beneficial as an immune boost in patients with the disease symptoms.
A leader in the team, Professor Haruna Abdu Kaita made this clarification against the backdrop that cure for the novel disease is not yet found, saying however that all hands are on deck in searching for appropriate vaccine.
Kaita said: “Unlike other viruses, the coronavirus-2 is highly contagious with very insidious mode of transmission due to the lengthy incubation of asymptomatic viral carriers. Scientists are everywhere tirelessly participating in the efforts to get suitable remedies against the disease caused by the virus. The scientific community has so far suggested various epidemiologic methods of containing the Covid-19 pandemic with remarkable success. Various treatment agents are presently at various stages of clinical trials like remdesivir from Gilead, Kevzara from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, and Actemra from Roche.
“The absence of a viable treatment has indeed led to a situation in which many people who manifested the symptoms of COVID-19 are left with no option than to resort to various herbal remedies. Our team of pharmaceutical researchers has decided to observe and record the herbal remedies being used.
“Incidentally, most of the herbs being used are among the main recipes in traditional medication therapies. Some of the herbal substances used have been scientifically reported to stimulate the immune system when applied for prevention and treatment of common cold. These are the herbs we are investigating as we intend to present them in adjusted, measured proportions and in suitable dosage forms as immune stimulants to enable the body overcome the COVID-19.”
He explained that patients with underlying health challenges or depressed immunity may find their herbal remedy beneficial in order to boost their immunity with the hope of overcoming the Covid-19 infection
Kaita explained further: “Alternative treatment therapies of course hold a lot of promise when subjected to the rigors of the necessary scientific procedures. It may be interesting to know that during the previous outbreaks of SARS, one of us have participated in collaborative works where various herbal preparations were tested for neuraminidase inhibitory activity against SARS virus. However, because coronairus-2 does not contain neuraminidase, acceptable protocol and clinical trials are designed to screen our targeted herbal preparations before being presented as a promising candidate for anti COVID-19 therapy.”