See our top 10 most read research studies assessing effects of botanicals, herbals, vitamins and minerals on COVID-19, featuring ingredients such as coconut oil, honey, curcumin, and probiotics.
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See our top 10 most read research studies assessing effects of botanicals, herbals, vitamins and minerals on COVID-19, featuring ingredients such as coconut oil, honey, curcumin, and probiotics.
The Philippines have studied virgin coconut oil (VCO) as a potential treatment for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) which infected more than 80,000 people and killed more than 2,800 worldwide as of March 2020.
There is currently no vaccine or specific antiviral treatment for COVID-19. Researchers in the Philippines were testing VCO, according to Dr Jaime Montoya, executive director of the Philippine Council on Health Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (PCHRD-DOST).
The PCHRD-DOST had announced on February 7 that it would test a “functional food” in infected patients with COVID-19 which Dr. Montoya confirmed in late February was coconut oil.
Dr. Montoya told NutraIngredientsAsia that coconut oil and its derivatives have been studied previously for its antiviral properties. He said the VCO has yet to be tested against COVID-19, but they plan on starting clinical trials soon.
A cohort study in Singapore found that the combination of vitamin D, magnesium and vitamin B12 (DMB) could reduce the rate of progression in older patients with Covid-19.
The study conducted by researchers at the Singapore General Hospital and Duke-NUS Medical School reported that patients who received DMB had a significant reduction of clinical deterioration compared to patients without DMB. Clinical deterioration was recognised as requiring oxygen support and intensive care support.
Researchers pointed out that many of the current therapeutic efforts were targeted at viral elimination instead of pre-emptively modulating hyper-inflammation.
They explained: “Covid-19 is a multi-organ phenomenon and it is becoming evident that appropriate systemic inflammatory control is necessary for overall survival benefit.”
A two-week clinical trial led by renowned Chinese pulmonologist Zhong Nanshan showed that consuming the botanical TCM product Lianhua Qingwen (LH) capsules and undergoing the standard therapy can speed up recovery in COVID-19 patients.
However, it has not proved to be effective in preventing severe infection from happening or reducing median viral assay conversion time.
In the trial which took place from Feb 2 to 15, nine in 10 of the subjects (91.5%) in the treatment group had completely recovered from at least one major symptom, such as coughing, fever, and fatigue by the end of the trial.
The recovery rate in the control group was 82.4%. The result was statistically significant with a p-value of less than 0.05 at 0.022.
A curcumin and artemisinin-based oral spray was proposed as a treatment for COVID-19 patients and a clinical trial to be conducted in April, ASX-listed phytocannabinoid firm MGC Pharmaceuticals revealed.
Known as ArtemiC, the new product was jointly developed by MGC and Switzerland firm Micelle Technology based on a product originally developed by the latter. New adaptations have been made to the product in response to COVID-19.
The supplement, which also contains vitamin C and Boswellia serrata, would be tested on COVID-19 patients in Israel’s Nazareth Hospital EMMS.
The double-blind, placebo-controlled, two-week clinical trial started in April and expected to recruit 50 patients between 40 and 75 years old.
Ayurvedic supplement and FMCG giant Dabur India had conducted a three-month clinical trial in May to test if its chyawanprash formula could help prevent healthy individuals from contracting COVID-19.
Chyawanprash is an ayurvedic herbal supplement commonly consumed in India. It has a fruit jam-like consistency and contains more than 41 ayurvedic herbs that are said to stimulate the immune system. The ingredients include the Indian gooseberry – a rich source of vitamin C, brahmi (Bacopa monnieri), and gokshura (tribulus terrestris).
Dabur India is a market leader in the category and enjoys more than 60% of the market share. Other companies producing chyawanprash include Himalaya Wellness, Baidyanath, and Emami Group.
Led by Dr Pawankumar Godatwar, the dean of research at the National Institute of Ayurveda, the multi-centre, randomised, open-label, parallel trial was expected to recruit 600 healthy subjects from five to 70 years old.
In April, researchers from Asia, the Middle East, and the West were trialing omega-3, honey, and even potato resistant starch, on top of vitamins and zinc, as they race to find products that could contribute to the fight against COVID-19 and its symptoms.
In China and India, there are also trials registered to study Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and nutraceutical formulations.
According to one of the largest clinical trial databases, ClinicalTrials.gov from the US, there are 657 registered trials related to COVID-19 as of April 20.
This does not include another 215 trials related to the term ‘SARS-CoV-2’, 33 studies related to the term ‘2019-nCoV’, 18 studies on ‘2019 novel coronavirus’, and 15 studies on ‘severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2’.
China announced in April it would be conducting clinical trials to assess the effectiveness and safety of combining traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and conventional Western antiviral medicine in the treatment of patients with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
Yu Yanhong, deputy head of China's National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine under the National Health Commission, said more than 50,000 infected patients who received TCM treatment had recovered and were discharged.
In a recent briefing focusing on these TCM treatments, Yu said there were six TCM medicines and formulas involved, namely the herbal products jinhua qinggan granule, lianhua qingwen capsule, huashi baidu formula, and xuanfei baidu formula, along with xuebijing injection, lung cleansing and detoxifying decoction,.
She explained that TCM has shown to be fruitful in the fight against other infectious diseases like SARS and influenza, and help improve immunity and recovery. With the current lack of vaccines and medicines to prevent or treat infected coronavirus patients, the use of TCM is one method that merit exploration, she added.
The COVID-19 pandemic had seen a spike in demand for immunity-boosting products, but what scope was there for new and credible research to examine if nutra products have a role to play in helping tackle the crisis?
We spoke to three respected industry professionals, Dilip Ghosh, the director of Nutriconnect in Australia; Sandeep Gupta, chief founder and director of India’s Expert Nutraceutical Advisory Council (ENAC) and Nutraworks; and Dr Anish Desai, director at Intellimed Healthcare Solutions.
CEO of Gencor Pacific, R. V Venkatesh, also gave insights on plans to conduct a human clinical trial to validate the effectiveness of palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) in symptomatic relief of the flu symptoms.
A common point brought up by the experts was the need for the government and industry to work together in the areas of new research and regulatory adjustment.
Researchers at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) were conducting three clinical studies to assess the effects of a probiotic formula on COVID-19 patients, people at higher-risk of contracting the virus, and the general population, first announced in July 2020.
The probiotic formula was derived from a recent study by CUHK which found that COVID-19 patients were lacking a series of good bacteria, instead hosting a range of bad bacteria in their guts.
Published in the Gastroenterology journal, researchers said patients had higher levels of Clostridium hathewayi, Bacteroides nordii, and Actinomyces viscosus compared to the healthy population.
On the other hand, good bacteria such as Fecalibacterium prausnitzii, Lachnospiraceae bacterium 5_1_63FAA, Eubacterium rectale, Ruminococcus obeum, and Dorea formicigeneran were depleted in these patients.
Health authorities should reassess the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) of key micronutrients such as vitamin C and D to support the immune system, said a group of researchers.
A group of researchers from the New Zealand, US, UK, and Netherlands, said that the RDA of vitamin C should be increased to 200mg and vitamin D to 2000 IU in their review published in Nutrients.
“The immune system is more important than before to reduce the risk of infection. A low RDA is a risk factor for an impaired immune system,” one of the researchers, Dr Manfred Eggersdorfer told NutraIngredients-Asia.
“The industries and the authorities now have the opportunity and responsibility to adjust the RDA,” the professor for Healthy Ageing at the University Medical Center Groningen stressed.
