Efficacy of honey -Nigella Sativa oil mixture as an adjuvant therapy against COVID-19 in randomized patients in Libya
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54361/LJMR.16.2B.10Keywords:
Coronavirus, clinical trial, HNSM, Libya.Abstract
Introduction: Since 2020, the spread of a novel beta coronavirus has resulted in a high morbidity and mortality rate. As the infectious disease spread throughout the world, it mutated and evolved several times. Since there is no definite therapeutic strategy for COVID-19, it is the responsibility of all researchers to develop a safe therapeutic approach for coronavirus treatment. Despite the widespread use of medicinal herbs during the corona epidemic period in Libya, there has been little research in this area. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of a honey -Nigella Sativa oil mixture (HNSOM) against the coronavirus.
Methods: An open-label randomized controlled clinical trial (RCT) was conducted on 107 adult patients with mild to moderate COVID-19 symptoms at the Abu Slim clinic in Tripoli. Patients were randomly divided into control and treated groups. Both groups received the standard treatment protocol, with the test subject group receiving 10 mL of HNSOM. A chi-square statistical test was used for data analysis.
Results: There were a significant positive results associated with HNSOM as an adjunctive treatment against the coronavirus. It was found that the percentage of patients' recovery in the treated group was significantly higher (86%) compared to the control group (27%), (P-value < 0.00001). Furthermore, viral clearance (negative PCR test) was 94% higher in the tested group than in the control group (36 %), with the chi-square statistics value being 39.08 (P-value < 0.00001).
Conclusion: The therapeutic efficacy of HNSOM supplementation was proved in this study. Further clinical trials should be conducted to ensure the beneficial therapeutic response obtained in this study.
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