A coconut processors group called on the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) to fund more studies proving the health benefits of virgin coconut oil (VCO) after a 2021 study on clinical trial of VCO as an effective supplementary treatment for COVID-19 cases in Valenzuela City gained international publication.
The VCO Producers and Traders Association of the Philippines said studies on the coconut derivative product would be a big boon to the coconut farming industry and the coconut processing industry, showing the multiplier effects of such government assistance to the sector.
A study spearheaded by the DOST-Food Nutrition and Research Institute (DOST-FNRI) titled “Virgin coconut oil supplementation relieves symptoms and inflammation among COVID-19 positive adults: a single-blind randomized trial”, was published by the Cambridge University Press on the Journal of Nutritional Science on Jan. 23, 2024.
The authors of the study are DOST-Food Nutrition and Research Institute (DOST-FNRI) director, scientist II Imelda Angeles-Agdeppa, Jacus Nacis, Prof. Fabian Dayrit and Keith Tanda.
“More studies on the efficacy of VCO should be considered to determine whether VCO can provide safe and affordable adjunct therapy against viruses. This will also be valuable support for the VCO industry,” VCO Philippines said.
The Journal of Nutritional Science is an international, peer-reviewed, online only, open access journal that welcomes high-quality research articles in all aspects of nutrition. The journal says that the underlying aim of all published research should be the development of nutritional concepts.
The DOST-FNRI-led study was an expansion of the VCO clinical trials to ascertain its efficacy as a functional food against COVID-19 that was earlier conducted in Santa Rosa, Laguna in 2020 or at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns in the country
The study on the Santa Rosa, Laguna clinical trials which concluded that VCO had shortened the recovery of probable and suspected COVID-19 cases in Santa Rosa, Laguna was also published in the Journal of Functional Foods on May 25, 2021.
The Valenzuela City expansion trials drew 77 participants that tested positive for COVID-19 using RT-PCR tests at the Valenzuela City Emergency Hospital and the Valenzuela City Community Quarantine Facility. It was a randomized single-blind study where the participants and the hospital staff knew they were being administered VCO as an added treatment for their mild to moderate COVID-19.
Dr. Ed Lalusis, patented inventor of the encapsulated VCO and president of Growrich Food Manufacturing, said the Department of Health and the Food and Drug Administration should also take notice of the successful clinical trials on VCO as an adjunct treatment for COVID-19 patients.
“I welcome the international recognition of the DOST-FNRI study on VCO as an important prophylaxis and treatment as well for COVID patients,” Lalusis said.
“It adds another boost to claims of VCO as an effective food supplement for COVID patients especially for the symptoms of inflammation. VCO is an antioxidant by nature so it’s automatically anti-inflammatory,” Lalusis said, as he noted that the cause of death of COVID patients was sudden inflammation of the blood vessels especially the blood vessels of the lungs.