Breakdown of Madagascar's COVID-19 alleged remedy by your pharmacist ...to guide your decision!

Coming up with a tonic herbal mixture by Madagascar is a sign of commitment and hard work towards addressing the current world greatest threat, COVID-19, but slamming WHO for not endorsing their purported herbal remedy is condemnable.

While some claimed WHO's action (as regards to Madagascar's herbal mixture) was racial, political and so forth, I think they acted without prejudice. At this stage of the fight against COVID-19 (about 4,345,646 people have been infected and 296,784 confirmed death cases have been reported, with speculations about the impending global economic meltdown with psychological impacts on human and other numerous worrisome situations that may result from the pandemic), the world is looking forward to a cure/vaccine irrespective of the source or race.

CONSTITUENTS OF MADAGASCAR'S ALLEGED COVID-19 REMEDY: The active ingredient in the Madagascar's COVID-19 herbal mixture, which was compounded by the Malagasy Institute of Applied Research, is wormwood plant, (Artemisia Absinthiun). It contains thujone which is an aterpene compound, a source of medicine for drunkenness and psychedelic experiences for centuries.

ARE THERE SAFETY CONCERNS?

Wormwood is LIKELY SAFE when taken by mouth in the amounts commonly found in food and beverages including bitters and vermouth. However, thujone can cause seizures, muscle breakdown (rhabdomyolysis), kidney failure, restlessness, difficulty sleeping, nightmares, vomiting, stomach cramps, dizziness, tremors, urine retention, thirst, numbness of arms and legs, paralysis, and death. Unfortunately, most of these side effects happen to be the presenting signs and symptoms of COVID-19. Consequently, progressing to clinical trials with such eye-popping evidences would be a waste of resources and time, thus prompting WHO to opted out.

MECHANISM OF ACTION OF THUJONE:

Thujone acts ona γ-aminobutyric acid type A (GABA) as an antagonist (opposite to the effects of alcohol). As a competitive antagonist of GABA, thujone alone is considered to be convulsant, by interfering with the inhibitory transmitter GABA, it may convey stimulating, mood-elevating effects at low doses.

DOSING CONSIDERATIONS FOR WORMWOOD.

The appropriate dose of wormwood depends on several factors such as the user's age, health, and several other conditions. At this time there is not enough scientific information to determine an appropriate range of doses for wormwood. Keep in mind that natural products are not always necessarily safe and dosages can be important.