VCO maker urges research on pellet vs COVID-19

MANILA, Philippines — A manufacturer of virgin coconut oil (VCO) based in San Pablo City, Laguna called on the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) to help fund research and development on monolaurin pills, said to be concentrated and pelletized as an effective food supplement to prevent and even treat the coronavirus disease.

Inventor Sing Tiu, owner and general manager of Tropicana Food Products, said with VCO now undergoing clinical trials as a potential cure for COVID-19, the monolaurin pills are likely to be effective against the virus.

“It could be 13 times more potent than VCO,” Tiu told The STAR in a recent interview.

Tiu, a math whiz who topped the electrical, and electronics and communications engineering boards in the 1970s, explained that VCO consisted of 50 percent lauric acid. Monolaurin, on the other hand, is one-third lauric acid.

Monolaurin pellets or capsules, he pointed out, are already being tapped as a miracle food supplement abroad and sold online in the US and Europe.

Tiu said that with the Philippines being rich in coconut trees, VCO and other derivative products of coconut should be maximized for their medicinal properties especially during the pandemic.

Science Secretary Fortunato dela Peña said they are willing to provide assistance to the private sector effort of studying the health benefits of VCO but were prohibited from providing funding support for research and development on a proprietarial technology.

He added that the DOST-Philippine Council for Health Research and Development and the Technology Application and Promotion Institute can both be tapped to provide technical assistance.