WONDER DRUG? Following the prescribed dosages is key to ensuring that “lagundi” treatment will alleviate mild COVID-19 symptoms. —Photo courtesy of THE DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
MANILA, Philippines — Pete Mangmang, 28, has experienced being infected with COVID-19 twice.
The second time was more difficult, he said, as he recalled how it seemed like all the symptoms like coughing and high fever were present and left him feeling like a vegetable, enervated and unable to get out of bed for days.
Three days into the new year, he woke up at 3 a.m. with a fever of 38.1 degrees Celsius.
“I knew right then that it was COVID[-19] again,” he told the Inquirer.
After consulting with his doctor online, he said he bought Lagundi syrup to help relieve his coughing and pain.
“The doctor told me, ‘You could still continue taking that and I will not prescribe you [another] cough syrup anymore,” Mangmang said.
But he was also prescribed paracetamol, Kamillosan for inflammatory infection and Vitamin C.
By Jan. 7, when he received the positive result of his COVID-19 test, his fever was gone and his coughing had eased.
“I tested positive, but the symptoms were eradicated. I then observed my body and continued the medication and by Jan. 10, I was able to work again,” he said.
‘Positive results’
Mangmang attributed his fast recovery to the Lagundi syrup. He said the first time he had COVID-19 was in May last year. He didn’t take any medicine and his sickness lasted a month.
But he also noted that the vaccines might have contributed to easing his symptoms.
Dr. Cecilia Maramba Lazarte, project leader of the Lagundi clinical trial of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), said “following the prescribed dosages is vital to ensure that the treatment using lagundi will render positive results.”
Based on the study conducted by the University of the Philippines-Manila in partnership with the DOST’s Philippine Council for Health Research and Development, mild COVID-19 patients can take specific dosages of the Lagundi tablet or syrup thrice a day for 10 days to improve their symptoms.
Adult patients can take 600 mg tablets or 5 mL of the 600 mg syrup three times a day.
For pediatric patients, the dosage requirements depend on their age range. Children 2 to 4 years old can take 2.5 to 5mL of the 300 mg syrup, while kids 4 to 6 are recommended to have 5 mL.
For children 6 to 12 years old, the suggested dosage per intake is 7.5 to 10 mL, while teenagers can take the 600 mg tablet thrice a day.
‘Evidence-based guidelines’
“Following these guidelines, the use of the medicine may alleviate mild COVID-19 symptoms, especially the loss of sense of smell for patients,” the DOST said.
Lazarte said “Our team conducted this study because we want to help our patients in battling COVID-19.”
“We hope that everyone who will use the Lagundi syrup and tablet will adhere to these evidence-based guidelines for best results,” she added.
The group behind the clinical trial also reminded patients that during treatment, they should continue consulting with health professionals, isolating and monitoring vital signs.
Affordable
“If lagundi is really effective in eradicating the symptoms, hopefully our fellow Filipinos who are affected by COVID would consider taking it too because it’s also affordable,” Mangmang said.
Lagundi (scientific name: Vitex negundo) is a large, five-leaved aromatic shrub that thrives in humid or arid regions in Africa and Asia.
The herbal medicine has been traditionally used to treat wounds, headaches, skin diseases and common colds.
When the National Integrated Research Program on Medicinal Plants identified the medicinal properties of each part of the plant in 1995, a lagundi-derived formula was developed to serve as a clinically proven cough and asthma medicine.
Lagundi products are also included in the home-care kits of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. INQ