MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Science and Technology has enrolled 42 patients in the ongoing clinical trials for the use of virgin coconut oil, lagundi, tawa-tawa, and melatonin as a potential cure and adjunctive therapy for COVID-19.
The DOST-Philippine Council for Health Research and Development funded the project with partner research institutions and various hospitals implementing the study.
The clinical trials, which began in June 2020, are being conducted at Philippine General Hospital.
The project’s aim is to determine the efficacy of virgin coconut oil as adjunctive therapy for COVID-19 patients.
“Specifically, it aims to determine the safety of VCO through clinical parameters such as lipid profile, fasting blood sugar (FBS) and creatinine and the efficacy of VCO through recovery from symptoms and virus clearance,” the DOST said in a statement.
The project team initially screened 832 patients with 42 of them being enrolled in the study.
Of the total, 20 were put in the VCO group and 22 were in the control wherein they would receive the standard care for COVID-19 treatment.
“The project team plans to conduct an interim analysis to serve as basis for further studies on the mechanism of action of VCO,” the government agency said.