Garcinia Kola (Bitter Kola) Contains Dimetric Flavonoid Which Inhibits Multiplication of Ebola Virus

Oops I made a little mistake in my last article about Kola nut being tipped as having "anti-ebola" properties. It should have been bitter Kola which is totally different from Kola nut.

There was actually a research carried out in 1989 by Dr Maurice Iwu on bitter Kola and ebola which showed that bitter Kola can inhibit the multiplication of the ebola cells in the human body:

"The discovery was announced at the 16th International Botanical Congress in St Louis in the US. 

Dr Maurice Iwu, who set up and heads the Bioresources Development and Conservation Programme, led the research.
"This is a very exciting discovery," said Dr Iwu, who himself comes originally from a family of traditional healers.
"The same forest that yields the dreaded Ebola virus could be a source of the cure."

The virus multiplies rapidly in the human body and quickly overwhelms it, and in advanced cases the patient develops high fever and severe bleeding.

The Garcinia kola compound has been shown to halt multiplication of the virus in the laboratory. If repeated in humans, this would give the body a chance to fight off the virus.
The active compound is what is known as a dimeric flavonoid, which is two flavonoid molecules fused together.
Flavonoids are non-toxic and can be found in orange and lemon rinds as well as the colourings of other plants.

Drug hopes 
The tests are in the early stages still, but the researchers hope that if they continue to prove successful the compound the US Food and Drug Administration will put it on a fast track - making a drug available to humans within a matter of years. 

"The discovery of these important properties in a simple compound - flavonoids - was very surprising," said Dr Iwu.
"The structure of this compound lends itself to modification, so it provides a template for future work. Even if this particular drug does not succeed through the whole drug approval process, we can use it to construct a new drug for this deadly disease."

source 

So it is not coincidental that Dr Maurice Iwu is part of the six-man working group set of by the Nigerian government to research the ebola virus disease.