Clinical trial for lagundi as COVID-19 medicine starts, says DOST exec

The clinical trial for lagundi as a medicine to prevent severe coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases has started, an official of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) said in a public briefing on Thursday.

DOST Philippine Council for Health Research Development executive director Dr. Jaime Montoya said the trial was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Ethics Review Board.

'Yung sa lagundi po, ito po ay nagsisimula na,” Montoya said.

“Nakapag-screen na sila ng mahigit 150 na pasyente. Out of which, mga 37 ang nag-qualify at nagsimula na po ang kanilang paglahok, dito po sa lagundi,” he added.

The Philippine Council for Health Research and Development has listed lagundi as an herbal drug for cough in the country.

Following the community-based study of virgin coconut oil (VCO) as medicine for COVID-19, Montoya said. In the same study, they will also start to administer VCO to infected patients at the Philippine General Hospital.

For the first two months of the study, he said VCO is given only to suspected COVID-19 patients and close contacts of positive cases.

Meanwhile, Montoya said the application for the study of tawa-tawa as medicine for COVID-19 is still under the review of the Ethics Review Board. He added that the study may start by next week.  -- BAP, GMA News