Bangkok (VNA) – Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has ordered the formation of acommittee to study the use of green chiretta (Andrographis paniculata) extractsto treat COVID-19 patients with mild symptoms.
Deputy PrimeMinister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul was appointed head ofthe committee, local media reported.
It will coordinate studies on the safety and efficacy ofgreen chiretta extracts on COVID-19 patients, as well as draft a strategic planto promote Thai traditional medicine in general.
The decision was taken in response to a proposal fromJustice Minister Somsak Thepsutin, who urged the government to scale up the useof traditional medicine on COVID-19 patients with mild symptoms. This comesamid a vaccine shortage which has led to criticism for the government.
His proposal came with evidence showing the Department ofCorrections' success in treating 12,376 inmates who contracted COVID-19 with green chiretta extracts.
Of this number, 5,045 inmates were in Chiang Mai CentralPrison, 2,100 in Nonthaburi Provincial Prison and 5,231 in Bang Kwang CentralPrison also in Nonthaburi, said Somsak.
Before prescribing the herbal medicine to the infected inmates, Somsaksaid he had studied information by the Department of Thai Traditional andAlternative Medicine, which recommended a dosage of 180mg of andrographolidesfrom green chiretta for five consecutive days to patients with mild symptoms.
Citing the same research, the minister said each rai (0.16hectare) of land can yield up to 600kg of green chirettas, which can be turnedinto roughly 375,000 herbal extract capsules, he said.
A total of 3.1 billion such capsules will be needed to coverall Thais, which means 8,400 rai of land will need to be planted with the herb,he said.
Due to its medical benefits, green chiretta has become acash crop which is now in high demand in the export sector, he said, addingthat the medicinal herb costs about 450 baht (13.7 USD) per kg. The Departmentof Corrections now plans to produce about 50 million capsules of the herbalmedicine in the next four months, which it aims to prescribe to about 50percent of the prison population, he said./.
Deputy PrimeMinister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul was appointed head ofthe committee, local media reported.
It will coordinate studies on the safety and efficacy ofgreen chiretta extracts on COVID-19 patients, as well as draft a strategic planto promote Thai traditional medicine in general.
The decision was taken in response to a proposal fromJustice Minister Somsak Thepsutin, who urged the government to scale up the useof traditional medicine on COVID-19 patients with mild symptoms. This comesamid a vaccine shortage which has led to criticism for the government.
His proposal came with evidence showing the Department ofCorrections' success in treating 12,376 inmates who contracted COVID-19 with green chiretta extracts.
Of this number, 5,045 inmates were in Chiang Mai CentralPrison, 2,100 in Nonthaburi Provincial Prison and 5,231 in Bang Kwang CentralPrison also in Nonthaburi, said Somsak.
Before prescribing the herbal medicine to the infected inmates, Somsaksaid he had studied information by the Department of Thai Traditional andAlternative Medicine, which recommended a dosage of 180mg of andrographolidesfrom green chiretta for five consecutive days to patients with mild symptoms.
Citing the same research, the minister said each rai (0.16hectare) of land can yield up to 600kg of green chirettas, which can be turnedinto roughly 375,000 herbal extract capsules, he said.
A total of 3.1 billion such capsules will be needed to coverall Thais, which means 8,400 rai of land will need to be planted with the herb,he said.
Due to its medical benefits, green chiretta has become acash crop which is now in high demand in the export sector, he said, addingthat the medicinal herb costs about 450 baht (13.7 USD) per kg. The Departmentof Corrections now plans to produce about 50 million capsules of the herbalmedicine in the next four months, which it aims to prescribe to about 50percent of the prison population, he said./.
VNA
