National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) Nigeria, on Saturday said the agency is currently processing Twenty-One (21) herbal medicinal products for “Safe to use” or Listing status.
“No herbal medicine manufacturer can claim effectiveness to treat Covid-19 associated symptoms,” without conducting clinical trials. This was contained in a statement issued by NAFDAC Director-General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye on Saturday.
She said that the “statements circulating on social media that NAFDAC has approved Paxherbal remedy for the treatment of Covid-19 symptoms is “wrong and inaccurate.”
According to Adeyeye “Paxherbal applied for Listing of Pax Herbal Cugzin capsule 290mg which was approved by NAFDAC and Listed as “Safe to use. The applicant claimed that it is an immune booster and an anti-infective.
“However, as part of the labeling of the product, and in line with global practice, a Disclaimer is on the product label which clearly states that THE CLAIMS HAVE NOT BEEN EVALUATED BY NAFDAC.
“Therefore the statements circulating on social media that NAFDAC has approved Paxherbal products “specifically for treating symptoms associated with Coronavirus” is WRONG and INACCURATE.
“Until a clinical study is done in a scientific manner, no herbal medicine manufacturer can claim effectiveness to treat Covid-19 associated symptoms.”
The Director-General also said that “many of the applicants claim that their products are immune boosters and anti-infectives, useful for relief of symptoms that could be associated with COVID-19.
“However, no clinical study has been done yet on any of the products to prove their claim of efficacy.
“Most of the applicants that submitted herbal medicines that are currently undergoing processing have been issued compliance directives to provide additional information or/and evidence of Good Manufacturing Practice or environment fit for production of the medicines” shed added.
