FDA OKs clinical trials for ‘lagundi’ as COVID-19 supplemental treatment

Image from the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development website.

MANILA, Philippines — Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Secretary Fortunato Dela Peña on Saturday said the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the clinical trials for “lagundi” (Vitex negundo) also known as the Chinese chaste tree as a supplemental treatment against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

“Yung pong sa lagundi ay good news po ay inaprubahan ng ng FDA ang clinical trials,” Dela Peña said during the Laging Handa press briefing.

(Good news, lagundi has been approved by the FDA for clinical trials.)

“So ito lang, early this week po naaprubahan (It was approved earlier this week),” he added.

According to Dela Peña, the clinical trials for lagundi will be participated by COVID-19 patients having mild symptoms, and are admitted in three quarantine centers: the Quezon Institute quarantine center, Sta. Ana Hospital, and Philippine National Police-National Capital Region community quarantine center.

“Ang hangad natin ay ma-address ang symptoms gaya ng ubo, lagnat at mga sore throat. Kasi malaking bagay kung giginhawa ang ating pasyente na mild cases dyan sa mga symptoms na ‘yan,” Dela Peña said on the purpose of the clinical trials.

(The purpose is to address the symptoms such as cough, fever or sore throat. Because it is a big thing for the patients will mild cases having those symptoms.)

Lagundi is a proven treatment for cough, which is among the common symptoms of COVID-19.

Aside from this, the DOST is also conducting trials for the effectiveness of virgin coconut oil in the recovery of COVID-19 patients.

As of Friday, there are now 209,544 COVID-19 cases in the Philippines, with 134,747 recoveries and 3,325 deaths.

/MUF