Nigerian government dashes hope of possible herbal cure for coronavirus

The Nigerian Government has dashed the hopes of its citizens towards finding solution to the ravaging coronavirus through herbal medications, as the authorities declared that it was not ready to release any coronavirus patient for herbal practitioners for test and its efficacy.

Penpushing reports that, the Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, made the government stance known on Wednesday at the daily Presidential Task Force on coronavirus briefing arguing many traditional medicines being suggested as cure for virus had not been tested and might be toxic.

“On the cure of COVID-19, the traditional medicines that people said they had, we have referred them to Traditional Complementary Medicine Department of the Federal Ministry of Health and to the Nigerian Institute of Pharmaceutical Research and Development to evaluate.

“But some of them, who have written to me that they have medicines, have asked me to give them 10 patients so that they can cure them. But we don’t do it like that in medicine. We don’t have human guinea pigs. Anybody who knows that he or she has a cure must prove to me that it was tried and it worked,” he said.

Penpushing further reports that, the Minister said there is “no short-cuts” to finding effective medication to fight coronavirus, declaring that all herbal medicines must go through the research cycle to ensure they are not toxic.

The Minister stressed that, such drugs will first be tested on animals before it can be certified, adding, “of course, I am not giving them anyone to go and carry out their tests. That is why they have to go through the research cycle to make sure that their medicines are not toxic and you can also check the efficacy.

“Any kind of medicine can be toxic. The toxicity can be checked and you can also check the efficacy. And as you know, you have to try it on animals such as rats and mouse, before it is certified,” he said.

Penpushing also reports that, the Nigerian government has been advised to follow the steps of other Africa countries by trying some herbal medicines in treating coronavirus patients  and one of the notable  organizations which suggested for the herbal remedy was Penpushing media, as well as Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi among others