The effects of melaleuca cajuput oil (Melaleuca cajuputi) herbal treatment on clinical, laboratory, and radiological improvement and length of hospital stay in COVID-19 patients

Melaleuca cajuputi is a herb often used for respiratory infections, laxatives, general muscle relaxants, and sedatives. Herein, the efficacy of melaleuca cajuput oil as an adjuvant to the standard treatment of COVID-19 patients was assessed. A total of 127 COVID-19 patients aged ≥ 18–60 years with mild and moderate symptoms were treated at the Bhayangkara Brimob Hospital from November 2020 to February 2021 in a randomized, standard treatment compared with standard treatment plus melaleuca cajuput oil as an adjuvant therapy clinical trial study. The diagnosis of COVID-19 was confirmed by the results of a nasopharyngeal swab polymerase chain reaction test. All patients received standard therapy with melaleuca cajuput oil (n= 67) and without melaleuca cajuput oil (n= 60) for 7 days. The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Bhayangkara Brimob Hospital. Of all the observed symptoms, including fever, nausea, anosmia, cough, dyspnea, limp, flu, ageusia, diarrhea, and bloating, the most common symptom of COVID-19 in the cajuput oil group was cough (47%), while the control group most reported fever (73%). The length of stay in the melaleuca cajuput oil group (10.23 ± 5.44 days) was significantly shorter than that in the control group (13.38 ± 4.62 days), as analyzed by the Mann–Whitney test (U= 1126.50; p< 0.01; r= −0.32). clarifyThe monocyte counts before (7.5%) and after (10.8%) in the cajuput oil group were significantly different (p< 0.001). The similar finding was also found for the control group (before: 29.2%, after: 45%, p< 0.001). No serious side effects occurred. This work identified M. cajuputi, one of Indonesia’s traditional herbs, as an effective adjuvant to the standard therapy for mild and moderate COVID-19 patients. Further research is necessary to explore this possibility.