Health

COVID-19: UNILORIN Dons Endorse Pineapple Skin For Management

Researchers at the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) have attested to the potency of a substance in pineapples that inhibits the inflammation problems caused by the COVID-19.

Prof. Bamidele Owoyele, who did the research titled: “Bromelain reduced pro-inflammatory mediators as a common pathway that mediate antinociceptive and antianxiety effects in sciatic nerve litigated Wistar rats” with his PhD student, Ahmed Olalekan Bakare, said bromelain can be found in varying quantities in the pineapple fruit, skin and stems.

Speaking on his research, Owoyele said: “Bromelain is a constituent that we find in pineapples. This bromelain, you find it mainly in the stem of pineapples, but you have a little amount on it in the flesh, the one we eat.

“And we also have a little more in the peel at the back. If you know zobo, they use that peel to also make zobo. Yes they add it. It also contains bromelain. But, the main one that has the majority of the bromelain is the stem, the one that carries the pineapple that we eat.

“This bromelain is very good in helping to stop inflammation and pain, that is, wound and swelling – internal swelling. So COVID-19 has a way of causing inflammation within the system. We now realised that if we use this bromelain, it can reduce the factors that cause that swelling so the bromelain can reduce it.

“We now postulated that because we have seen it do that on some injured nerves in the nervous system, that if we use it for the treatment of Covid-19, there will be dramatic changes. So, we are now advocating that it should be considered for the management of COVID-19.

“In the eighth to the eleventh week of the COVID-19 infection there is what we call the cytokine storm – that is when that sickness is critical for people; that is when they start gasping for air and they are not able to breathe well because these chemicals fill up the lungs. So, if you use bromelain or eat a lot of pineapples, it may have the capacity to reduce that activity. And we believe that it will help the individual to cope with the covid-19 problem.”

Owoyele, a Professor of Physiology with a focus on Neuro Sciences, told The Nation that the research work has been published in two journals.

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Stephen Jesuwale

Jesuwale Stephen is a journalist who finished from the Nigerian Institute of Journalism. He is a distinctive writer, media strategist and also a Digital Marketer