An article claiming that coconut fruit cures COVID-19 is FALSE.

The article, published on the Opera News website, claims scientists from the Philippines have discovered that oil extracted from coconuts can cure COVID-19.

In June this year, the Department of Science and Technology in the Philippines announced that the country had started conducting trials on the viability of virgin coconut oil as a potential medicine for COVID-19 at the Philippine General Hospital.

On July 22, 2020, the Manila Bulletin reported that the initial clinical trial phase with virgin coconut oil showed promise as a supplement for COVID treatment following one of three clinical trials conducted by the Department of Science and Technology using the oil as a supplement for the treatment of COVID-19. According to the article, the majority of patients involved in the study were sent home.

According to the publication, phase one trials of the study that was conducted at Sta. Rosa Community Hospital and it involved 45 patients with mild COVID-19 symptoms. The patients were given virgin coconut oil after meals for 28 days.

The second phase of the virgin coconut oil trials will be conducted in the near future at the Philippines General Hospital.

The article on Opera News seems to have borrowed from a post on the Travel Daily website, describing the results of the study by two Philippine researchers as promising.

A statement published by Ateneo de Manila University by Dr Fabian Dayrit from the university and Dr Mary Newport of Spring Hill Neonatology(USA) proposed the potential of coconut oil as a safe agent against COVID-19. They explained that coconut oil derivatives have been shown to be safe and effective antiviral compounds in both humans and animals.

However, there is currently no vaccine or specific antiviral treatment for the disease that has thus far infected over 16.7 million and claimed over 660,000 lives globally. Nonetheless, several clinical trials of potential COVID-19 vaccines are ongoing.

Mr Tarik Jasarevic, a spokesperson for the World Health Organization (WHO), confirmed to PesaCheck in a phone interview that to date there is no cure or vaccine for COVID-19.

The spokesperson added that the WHO doesn’t recommend self-medication, but advocates for self-care and healthy habits for preventing and managing the symptoms of COVID-19.

PesaCheck has looked into the claim that coconut fruit cures COVID-19 and finds it to be FALSE.

This story  was produced by PesaCheck.