Garcinia Kola, popularly called bitter kola, is now the toast of the day. People who ordinarily would not want anything to do with it due to its bitter taste are now falling over themselves in eating it, no thanks to the belief that it is a ready cure against the Ebola Virus Disease, EVD. Though Nigerian researchers have been challenged to take a cursory look at its efficacy, it is no gainsaying that the kola is “traditionally used by African medicine men that believe that it has purgative, antiparasitic and antimicrobial properties.”
Gordian Obute of the Department of Plant Science and Biotechnology, University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, has been noted to say seeds of Garcinia Kola – known as Aki Ilu in Igbo, Na mijin Goro in Hausa, and Orogbo in Yoruba – are chewed to treat bronchitis, throat infections and an infusion of the root with little salt is a remedy for asthma.
No doubt, all these symptoms are also associated with the EVD, especially since they all are symptoms of fever, which is why the story gained ground that it is a ready cure for Ebola. But like Chukwu Onyebuchi, minister of health, warns, as with any herb or medicine no one should use or eat it as a requisite to combat the EVD but should visit his or her physician when faced with any medical condition
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