Garcina Kola (Bitter Kola) And Ebola – Putting It All In Perspective? – Adagba Whenu Tobi
Dr. Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol, two US citizens who contracted the deadly Ebola virus have shown tremendous improvements after being administered an experimental drug known as ZMapp. The serum according to CNN (
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/08/04/he...rum/index.html) was developed by a biotech firm MAPP Biopharmaceutical Inc. and had never been tried before in a human being but had shown promise in small experiments with monkeys.
Some weeks ago, former INEC chairman, Prof. Maurice Iwu, reiterated claims about a research that was carried out since 1999 which remained inconclusive but had shown in-vitro that our own readily available, cheap and natural fruit, Bitter kola stopped the Ebola virus. Unfortunately, fifteen years after this initial discovery of what the readily available bitter kola has done to Ebola in the laboratory, Ebola hit West Africa’s Guinea Republic and has been on the rage, spreading to Sierra Leone, Liberia and Nigeria, killing more than 800 people, without any cure in sight for Africans. The Bitter Kola research as we speak, is still inconclusive.
Unfortunately, rather than say Bitter kola could possibly hold the cure being sought as we renew efforts to conclude the research, Africans, especially Nigerians already scoff at the “inconclusive” research, drawing their own conclusions already. People are already being erroneously told bitter kola is the cure and by simply chewing it, you can prevent the deadly Ebola Virus Disease. This claim isn’t yet scientifically proven, but the learned, according to this report in Vanguard have also concluded too early that “there is no scientific evidence of Garcinia kola, popularly known as bitter kola curing or preventing Ebola virus disease.” (
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/08/b...alth-minister/). The research in 1999 according to S. Borenstein (
http://articles.philly.com/1999-08-0...acle-drug-kola) however claimed that “A bitter fruit traditionally used as a daily health tonic in West Africa ‘stopped’ the Ebola virus in test tubes in initial laboratory experiments”.
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The effort of the Ministry of Health, under the Health Minister Onyebuchi Chukwu and the joint effort of Treatment Research Group for Ebola Disease co-chaired by the heads of Pharmaceutical and Medical Research, is a step in the right direction, however belated. We would have been in a better position, if it had been done these past 15 years. Co-chair, Dr. Karniyus Gamaniel, Director-General of National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development Council was quoted to have said “We think we are capable. We have the competent virology lab and virology staff to do this,”.
In conclusion, let us note that, this isn’t the time to just “think” we are capable, this is the time to “show” we are, while Nigerians await the group’s promised briefing on its progress in time. Let us not forget the financial motivation that drives researches, especially in the health sector. Whoever comes up first with a viable, scientifically proven solution will have the world scuttling down to purchase, thereby driving its economy.
Adagba Whenu Tobi
