Pharmacies across the city are reporting that they have sold out of all herbal medicines made from the plant green chiretta (ฟ้าทะลายโจร) which is said to help alleviate Covid symptoms.
Followers of local social media will have seen an explosion of posts, threads and announcements about the medicinal properties of the chiretta plant.
“However much we order, it all goes,” said one pharmacist on Suthep Road who says that no pharmacy in the city can keep up with the current demands.
A pharmacy next to Dara Academy said that it ran out of 500 boxes within two days of receiving the order and their suppliers now say that they too have run out.
The pharmacist on Suthep went on to say that people are buying them in bulk as they fear catching the virus and believe that this herb will help alleviate any symptoms. He asked the public to only buy up to ten boxes each, so that others can also access this herbal medicine.
According to Asst. Prof. Dr. Thitiphan Chimsook, a Maejo University researcher, the plant contains Andrographolid, the principal bioactive chemical constituent of the Andrographis paniculata (Acanthaceae) plant. While still considered experimental, there is some promising research being done that shows that this chemical helps alleviate flu-like symptoms.
The Bangkok Post reported two days ago that nearly 3,000 Covid-19 infected inmates at Chiang Mai Central Prison with mild symptoms have fully recovered after treatment using only the herbal medicine made from green chiretta, according to Justice Minister Somsak Thepsutin.