Efficacy of Covexir® (<i>Ferula foetida</i> oleo‐gum) treatment in symptomatic improvement of patients with mild to moderate <scp>COVID</scp>‐19: A randomized, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled trial
Maede Hasanpour, Hossein Safari, Amir Hooshang Mohammadpour, Milad Iranshahy, Mohammad Javad Dehghan Nayyeri, Faegheh Farhadi, Bahareh Emami, Mehrdad Iranshahi
Abstract
Abstract The SARS‐CoV‐2 COVID‐19 pandemic has emerged as an unprecedented emergency state in healthcare system and global challenge. In recent decade, the function of exogenous H 2 S in the treatment of respiratory diseases has been investigated using H 2 S‐donor agents. Ferula foetida is a medicinal plant that is traditionally used in respiratory diseases including asthma and viral respiratory diseases. The oleo‐gum of this plant is a rich source of several organic sulfides including thiophenes, disulfides and polysulfide derivatives, which can act as H 2 S‐donor agents. The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy of Covexir® ( F. foetida oleo‐gum) treatment as a rich source of H 2 S‐donor compounds in clinical presentations of patients with COVID‐19. The efficacy of Covexir® was evaluated in a randomized, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled trial in outpatients with COVID‐19. Covexir® could significantly inhibit cough when compared to the placebo group ( p < .01 and p < 001, respectively). Moreover, there was a significant difference ( p < 001) between the two groups in dyspnea symptom at follow‐up interval of 7 day after receiving Covexir®. Furthermore, on days 3 and 7, statistically significant differences were observed in myalgia, anorexia, anosmia, and sense of taste severity between two groups. Our findings revealed that Covexir® was very safe in the treatment of COVID‐19 patients with mild to moderate symptoms and it can be recommended to improve clinical presentations of patients with COVID‐19 such as cough, shortness of breath, myalgia, anorexia, anosmia, and sense of taste.