What do we know so far about using VCO for COVID-19?
What do we know so far about using VCO for COVID-19?
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Virgin coconut oil (VCO) is being studied in the Philippines and other countries as a potential supplementary treatment for COVID-19 — that is, a potential additional treatment used in combination with other COVID-19 treatments. These community-based trials are being carried out by the Filipino Department of Science and Technology (DOST) at the Sta. Rosa Community Hospital in Laguna, and involved both probable cases of COVID-19 (i.e. highly suspected cases) and mild cases of COVID-19. There are also two trials being carried out at the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) looking into the effects of VCO on moderate cases of COVID-19 or those who are hospitalized. These two sets of studies aim to understand if VCO can shorten the COVID-19 recovery time, prevent further complications, and prevent hospitalization time. These studies follow 6 months of laboratory experiments that found VCO to decrease the coronavirus count by 60 to 90% for mild to moderate cases of COVID-19. If proven to be effective with sufficient evidence in the community-based trials, VCO could be a safe and affordable supplementary treatment for COVID-19. It is important to note that these studies are still in development and that The World Health Organization (WHO) does not support the use of any specific medication to treat, cure, or prevent COVID-19. While coconut oil is safe in certain doses, more evidence is needed to understand its effect on COVID-19 and it should not be used as a COVID-19 treatment or prevention medication.
Virgin coconut oil (VCO) is being studied in the Philippines and other countries as a potential supplementary treatment for COVID-19 — that is, a potential additional treatment used in combination with other COVID-19 treatments. These community-based trials are being carried out by the Filipino Department of Science and Technology (DOST) at the Sta. Rosa Community Hospital in Laguna, and involved both probable cases of COVID-19 (i.e. highly suspected cases) and mild cases of COVID-19. There are also two trials being carried out at the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) looking into the effects of VCO on moderate cases of COVID-19 or those who are hospitalized. These two sets of studies aim to understand if VCO can shorten the COVID-19 recovery time, prevent further complications, and prevent hospitalization time. These studies follow 6 months of laboratory experiments that found VCO to decrease the coronavirus count by 60 to 90% for mild to moderate cases of COVID-19. If proven to be effective with sufficient evidence in the community-based trials, VCO could be a safe and affordable supplementary treatment for COVID-19. It is important to note that these studies are still in development and that The World Health Organization (WHO) does not support the use of any specific medication to treat, cure, or prevent COVID-19. While coconut oil is safe in certain doses, more evidence is needed to understand its effect on COVID-19 and it should not be used as a COVID-19 treatment or prevention medication.
Publication
What our experts say
Virgin coconut oil (VCO) is being studied in the Philippines and other countries as a potential supplementary treatment for COVID-19 — that is, a potential additional treatment used in combination with other COVID-19 treatments. These community-based trials are being carried out by the Filipino Department of Science and Technology (DOST) at the Sta. Rosa Community Hospital in Laguna, and involved both probable cases of COVID-19 (i.e. highly suspected cases) and mild cases of COVID-19. There are also two trials being carried out at the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) looking into the effects of VCO on moderate cases of COVID-19 or those who are hospitalized.
These two sets of studies aim to understand if VCO can shorten the COVID-19 recovery time, prevent further complications, and prevent hospitalization time. These studies follow 6 months of laboratory experiments that found VCO to decrease the coronavirus count by 60 to 90% for mild to moderate cases of COVID-19. If proven to be effective with sufficient evidence in the community-based trials, VCO could be a safe and affordable supplementary treatment for COVID-19.
It is important to note that these studies are still in development and that The World Health Organization (WHO) does not support the use of any specific medication to treat, cure, or prevent COVID-19. While coconut oil is safe in certain doses, more evidence is needed to understand its effect on COVID-19 and it should not be used as a COVID-19 treatment or prevention medication.
Virgin coconut oil (VCO) is being studied in the Philippines and other countries as a potential supplementary treatment for COVID-19 — that is, a potential additional treatment used in combination with other COVID-19 treatments. These community-based trials are being carried out by the Filipino Department of Science and Technology (DOST) at the Sta. Rosa Community Hospital in Laguna, and involved both probable cases of COVID-19 (i.e. highly suspected cases) and mild cases of COVID-19. There are also two trials being carried out at the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) looking into the effects of VCO on moderate cases of COVID-19 or those who are hospitalized.
These two sets of studies aim to understand if VCO can shorten the COVID-19 recovery time, prevent further complications, and prevent hospitalization time. These studies follow 6 months of laboratory experiments that found VCO to decrease the coronavirus count by 60 to 90% for mild to moderate cases of COVID-19. If proven to be effective with sufficient evidence in the community-based trials, VCO could be a safe and affordable supplementary treatment for COVID-19.
It is important to note that these studies are still in development and that The World Health Organization (WHO) does not support the use of any specific medication to treat, cure, or prevent COVID-19. While coconut oil is safe in certain doses, more evidence is needed to understand its effect on COVID-19 and it should not be used as a COVID-19 treatment or prevention medication.
Context and background
Media around the potential use of coconut has increased due to the recent announcement of the results from the Phillipine’s Department of Science and Technology (DOST) laboratory studies on VCO and COVID-19, which found that VCO decreased viral load for mild to moderate cases of COVID-19 60 to 90%. A study on VCO and COVID-19 is also being carried out in Indonesia, adding to the coverage of this topic on Southeast Asia.
Coconut oil has antibacterial and antiviral properties due to lauric acid (C12), which makes up 50% of the oil. Monolaurin is a derivative of Lauric acid — produced by the human body in response to ingesting coconut oil, which can act as an even more powerful antiviral agent. Researchers, however, are unsure of how lauric acid is converted into monolaurin in the body, and therefore how much one would need to ingest to receive benefits.
Media around the potential use of coconut has increased due to the recent announcement of the results from the Phillipine’s Department of Science and Technology (DOST) laboratory studies on VCO and COVID-19, which found that VCO decreased viral load for mild to moderate cases of COVID-19 60 to 90%. A study on VCO and COVID-19 is also being carried out in Indonesia, adding to the coverage of this topic on Southeast Asia.
Coconut oil has antibacterial and antiviral properties due to lauric acid (C12), which makes up 50% of the oil. Monolaurin is a derivative of Lauric acid — produced by the human body in response to ingesting coconut oil, which can act as an even more powerful antiviral agent. Researchers, however, are unsure of how lauric acid is converted into monolaurin in the body, and therefore how much one would need to ingest to receive benefits.
Resources
- Laguna VCO clinical trials for COVID-19 treatment to be completed by December – DOST (CNN)
- Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO) as a Potential Adjuvant Therapy in COVID-19 Patients (ClinicalTrials.gov)
- “Solidarity” clinical trial for COVID-19 treatments (WHO)
- Activity of Virgin Coconut Oil, Lauric Acid or Monolaurin in Combination with Lactic Acid Against Staphylococcus Aureus (Southeast Asian Journal of Tropical Medicine and Public Health)
- Laguna VCO clinical trials for COVID-19 treatment to be completed by December – DOST (CNN)
- Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO) as a Potential Adjuvant Therapy in COVID-19 Patients (ClinicalTrials.gov)
- “Solidarity” clinical trial for COVID-19 treatments (WHO)
- Activity of Virgin Coconut Oil, Lauric Acid or Monolaurin in Combination with Lactic Acid Against Staphylococcus Aureus (Southeast Asian Journal of Tropical Medicine and Public Health)
