Madagascar herb cannot cure Corona Virus – NIPRD

The National Institute of Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD) has revealed that the “COVID Organics”, the herb produced by Madagascar, cannot cure coronavirus.

President Muhammadu Buhari had directed that the drug must be verified before use after receiving the COVID Organics from Guinea-Bissau in May 2020.

The drug 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.

Releasing details of the test carried out on Sunday, the federal government agency said it subjected the herb to scientific analysis and discovered that it is not as potent as claimed.

The report read: “Safety studies show that COVID ORGANICS (CVO) products do not alter the normal physiology of the animals.

“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.