Some researchers at the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) have recommended Bromelain derivable from pineapple fruits for the management of COVID-19 cases.
This was made known in the weekly publication of the University of Ilorin Bulletin released on Monday.
The discovery is in conjunction with Prof. Bamidele Owoeye, the Head, Department of Physiology, and Mr Ahmed Bakare, a PhD candidate at the university.
The study was conducted at the university and derived from the doctoral thesis of Bakare.
It explained that pineapple fruits could be more beneficial to the body, especially in the treatment of pain resulting from nerve injuries called Neuropathic.
The research was entitled publication “Bromelain reduced Pro-Inflammatory Mediators as A Common Pathway that Mediate Antinociceptive and Anti-anxiety Effects in Sciatic Nerve Litigated Wistar Rats.”
“It was also clear that while bromelain, derived from pineapple fruits, could relieve the pain from nerve injuries, it also nourishes the injured nerves thereby helping to minimise the injury,” Owoeye said.
Owoeye added that bromelain had the capacity to enhance the functions of injured nerves by reducing the activities and concentration of inflammatory chemicals that are generated when nerves are injured.
He, therefore, drew the attention of the concerned authorities to the potency of bromelain/pineapple in the management of COVID-19 because the pineapple fruits contain bromelain which actively reduces cytokines concentration, which are implicated in the destructive actions of COVID-19.
The don, who is also the Regional Secretary for West Africa Society of Neuroscientists of Africa (SONA), commended the Director of the Central Research Laboratories, University of Ilorin, Prof. Musa Yakubu, for the support he granted his team, which enabled the publication of the article in the Scientific Reports.
