According to a press statement released by the innovation hub this week, whatever mixtures are in the market, claiming to cure COVID-19 and are associated with the Hub, have nothing to do with the NUL team of scientists and chemists. On July 13, the innovation hub gave an update regarding the status of the research by a team of NUL scientists related to their efforts towards the COVID-19 treatment.
However, the team clarified that the herbal mixtures that passed toxicological tests were not a cure for COVID-19. “We said this then, and we are saying it now, there is no proven cure for COVID-19,” says the statement. It further states that the plants used in the mixtures have been screened for their medicinal potential and the mixtures made from them have been tested for their toxicological properties.
With the assistance of the Lesotho Government’s Department of Science and Technology, the mixtures will undergo further and deeper laboratory testing in conjunction with South African laboratories and scientists.
The statement explains that if the laboratory tests pass, the mixtures will have to undergo pre-clinic tests and only if they pass the last stages will then be recommended for treatment. The reality of science is that the results may show that the mixtures work or do not work against the COVID-19 says the statement, further emphasizing that whatever the results, they will be important as they will add the knowledge of medicinal plants used in the country.
The NUL Innovation Hub has therefore strongly dismissed any claims or association to medicinal and herbal mixtures that have surfaced on market shelves claiming to cure COVID-19. NUL’s Professor Narayan Himanshu said the research is still on and has already passed successfully through some of the initial stages of testing adding that they are positive but cannot claim that they have already discovered the treatment.
