Researchers say virgin coconut oil a potential antiviral agent may help treat COVID-19

Virgin coconut oil can help destroy the virus according to Filipino researchers, following months of experiments on the product as a potential antiviral agent.

Photo credit: ateneo.edu

There are still alternative solutions against COVID-19 aside from vaccines. Although further investigation is needed before we develop a possible prevention or treatment option, we aim to give Filipinos hope through our ongoing local research initiatives,

Science Secretary Fortunato de la Peña said in a statement.

After six months of experiments, results showed that compounds from coconut oil and virgin coconut oil, or VCO, a readily available commodity in the Philippines, decreased coronavirus count by 60 to 90 percent at low viral load.

Researchers also discovered that the compounds were observed to improve cell survival.

But the agency cautioned that more experiments were needed to determine whether higher concentration of coconut oil compounds would further reduce the replication rate of the virus, which causes the respiratory illness COVID-19.

The results are very promising, as not only does it show that the virgin coconut oil, by itself, can destroy the virus, but it also has a key mechanism in up regulating the immune response against COVID-19,

Dr. Jaime C. Montoya, executive director of the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (PCHRD), said in a statement.

Funded by the Department of Science and Technology, the research led by Dr. Fabian Dayrit of Ateneo de Manila University sought to investigate if coconut oil compounds are effective antiviral agents to prevent or reduce COVID-19 infections, following reports of previous research that VCO compounds were effective at killing other viruses.

Science Secretary Fortunato de la Peña said the first analysis of virgin coconut oil as a potential antiviral agent may be out by the second week of November. But, he also cautioned that those involved in the study were suspected and mild COVID-19 cases.

The Philippine General Hospital (PGH) is also conducting a separate clinical trial for virgin coconut oil among severe patients battling with the virus.