Ateneo de Manila University School of Science and Engineering professor Fabian M. Dayrit has released his research on the potential use of coconut oil as a safe antiviral agent against the novel coronavirus.
The research titled “The Potential of Coconut Oil and its Derivatives as Effective and Safe Antiviral Agents Against the Novel Coronavirus (nCoV-2019)” was published by the Ateneo de Manila University on their website on January 31, 2020, and credited to Dr. Dayrit and Dr. Mary T. Newport.
As scientists, big pharmas, laboratories, and world health institutions are frantically studying and searching for a cure and developing a vaccine for the novel corona virus, which sadly will probably take some more time, other people like Professor Dayrit are looking towards other candidate treatments for the nCoV that may already be around and readily available to people.
Like the Malunggay, Coconut oil is another super food that is packed with nutrients and ingredients that can help boost our immunity. Not only that, coconut oil is also known to have anti-viral, anti-fungal, and anti-bacterial properties.
According to the Ateneo professor’s research, coconut oil contains Lauric acid (C12) and monolaurin, and derivative like sodium lauryl sulfate (which is also known as sodium dodecyl sulfate), that have been known for many years and used in a wide range of products for their significant antiviral properties.
In Dr. Dayrit’s research there are three mechanisms that have been proposed to explain the antiviral activity of lauric acid and monolaurin:
- First, they cause disintegration of the virus envelope;
- second, they can inhibit late maturation stage in the virus replicative cycle;
- third, they can prevent the binding of viral proteins to the host cell membrane.
The Ateneo professor is proposing for a more definitive study to be seriously considered as there are considerable scientific evidence for the antiviral activity of coconut oil, lauric acid, and its derivatives and their general safety.
In the absence of a cure for nCoV-2019, Dr. Dayrit proposes “that clinical studies be conducted among patients who have been infected with nCoV-2019. This treatment is affordable and virtually risk-free, and the potential benefits are enormous”.
The Ateneo professor also says, given the safety and broad availability of virgin coconut oil (VCO), he recommends that VCO be considered as a general prophylactic against viral and microbial infection.
For fuller details of Dr. Fabian Dayrit’s study published by the Ateneo, check this out.
READ: The humble Malunggay of the Philippines, known elsewhere as moringa, is proving to be a powerhouse of nutrients that can boost your immune system against viruses, possibly even from the dreaded novel corona virus. The University of Santos Tomas discovered anti-cancer benefits in a certain species of seaweed found in the Ilocos region, while the De La Salle Medical and Health Sciences Institute-led a team that developed the world’s first anti-dengue medicine, and more Filipino science research backed by the Department of Science and Technology are developing medicine using local plants to heal hypertension, gout, and other ailments.
TELL US in the comments below how Coconut oil has helped you fight off virus?
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