COVID-19 VACCINE: 40 Herbal Medicines For COVID-19 Undergoing Review

COVID-19 VACCINE: 40 Herbal Medicines For COVID-19 Undergoing Review—THE National Agency for Foods and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) said on Tuesday it received about 40 applications for the approval of herbal formulations for the treatment of COVID-19 from researchers in the country.

Speaking during an online news conference, NAFDAC Director-General Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye said the 40herbal formulations were currently undergoing review to ensure their safety for use.

According to her, if not well-researched, herbalmedicine could kill fast.

“In March 2019, we inaugurated the Nigerian HerbalMedicine Product Committee (HMPC) to bridge the gap often created between traditional medicine practitioners and researchers.

“COVID-19 pandemic created an opportunity and we have been encouraging traditional medicine practitioners to submit their herbal formulations for evaluation.

“We also developed guidelines on how to register herbal medicine online and the labelling of the product.

“Prof. Maurice Iwu’s application for approval of a herbal medicine for management of COVID-19 is also part of the 40 applications we are reviewing for safety.

“We use animal for safety test to ensure the formulation will not kill anybody,” she said

Prof. Adeyeye said there was no cure for COVID-19 yet and warned that any claim of cure must be subjected to clinical trials following an approved clinical trial protocol.