Do natural products have a role to play in the fight against Corona Viruses and, more importantly, when a person is already symptomatic with a disease caused by these viruses?

A new variant of COVID-19 has just surfaced in South Africa and is said to be 70% more transmissible than the original one. In terms of staying healthy and immune resistant there is no shortage of information and protocols. But can natural substances be of any help to individuals who have already contracted the disease?

Oshun Health Spoke to Henry Deale, Research and Development Chemist at Bioteq Natura Laboratories:

Oshun Heath: What does research about the virus show?

Henry Deale: Thanks to autopsies and other research on Covid-19, it’s been established that the virus triggers an inflammatory overreaction (cytokine storm) which can then lead to thrombosis. The lungs are often the first, and most inflamed of the body’s organs which, initially, led to the disease being wrongly classified as a ‘respiratory’ disease with pneumonia-like symptoms. The pneumonia diagnosis didn’t quite make sense in the light of numerous reports of heart attacks, strokes, and other thromboembolic disorders, as well as the fact that 9 out of 10 patients on ventilators died, however. It all started making sense with the latest evidence which showed that the disease, in fact, attacks the cardiovascular system and can cause blood clotting. It’s useless to ventilate a lung in which blood is not properly circulating. The problem is cardiovascular, not respiratory.

**Henry Deale, Research and Development Chemist at Bioteq Natural Laboratories**

Oshun Health: Do natural occurring substances have a role to play in the fight against COVID-19?

Henry Deale: Prevention is always better than cure but yes, natural substances do have a role to play. However, I’d like to emphasize that the protocols I suggest haven’t been researched on COVID-19 specifically, and that my advice is based on research with the products I suggest on diseases that have commonalities with COVID-19. Ebola, for instance, has something in common with COVID-19 in that it also causes a cytokine storm. A study with curcumin, a potent anti-inflammatory, on Ebola patients showed that curcumin was effective in curbing the inflammatory overreaction (cytokine storm) so common in COVID-19 http://iv.iiarjournals.org/content/29/1/1.full. Therefore, my suggestion is to use curcumin once a diagnosis of COVID-19 has been made and symptoms are experienced. Curcumin also acts as an anticoagulant and may help with blood clotting. Curcumin is very difficult for the body to absorb, however, and absorption technology is important when choosing an effective curcumin product.

Oshun Health: Can you tell us more about the protocols you suggest?

Henry Deale: Like I said, prevention is better than cure and for asymptomatic individuals wanting to protect themselves against disease I suggest the following:

Fulvic Acid: Research shows that, because of the strong positive charge on humic acids, of which fulvic acid forms the low molecular part, it binds so strongly to the negatively charged viruses that it can displace them from a cell’s surface. In vitro studies have shown, for example, that if you allow Herpes Simplex viruses to attach to host cells and then add Humic acid to the solution, it will displace viruses from infected cell surfaces. That is, the virus has a greater affinity for the humic acid than it does for the host cell. Thus, humic acid can displace a virus even after it has attached itself to the surface of a cell. This was eloquently explained in an interview with Richard J Laub, MS, PhD,CChem, FRSC, a chemist with nearly 150 peer-reviewed, published research papers and formerly a professor of chemistry at Ohio State University and San Diego State Universities. He was also a fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry in London, England. Follow the link for the full interview: http://13.244.117.220/2020/01/30/fulvic-acid-as-a-broad-spectrum-antiviral/
Citrus C Plus: Oshun Health’s Citrus C Plus is a liposomal whole food Vitamin C (extracted from oranges, lemons, and baobab) with added Zinc and Selenium. Viral and bacterial infections are often associated with deficiencies in macro- and micronutrients, including the essential trace element Selenium. It has been shown, for instance, that if an individual is deficient in Selenium, benign strains of the Coxsackie and Influenza viruses can mutate to highly pathogenic strains. An international team of researchers, led by Professor Margaret Rayman at the University of Surrey, has identified a link between the COVID-19 cure rate and regional Selenium status in China. https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/111/6/1297/5826147 More specifically, increased viral replication (hence increased mutation rate) and higher pathogenicity or mortality in selenium deficient individuals were reported.

Vitamin C concentrations in the body rapidly decline during infections and stress, and supplementation with Vitamin C was found to improve the human immune system. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16373990

Zinc homeostasis is crucial for the adequate function of the immune system. Zinc deficiency as well as zinc excess result in severe disturbances in immune cell numbers and activities which can result in increased susceptibility to infections and development of especially inflammatory diseases. Impaired immune function due to inadequate zinc status may be the most common cause of secondary immunodeficiency in humans. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5666901/.

A large number of trials document that adequate intakes of Vitamin C and Zinc improve symptoms and shorten the duration of respiratory tract infections including the common cold. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16373990

In conclusion, Vitamin C, Zinc, and Selenium play important roles in immune function and the resistance to infectious agents. They can reduce the risk, severity, and duration of infectious diseases. Citrus C offers all three in one.

Pro32 Probiotic: It’s common knowledge that 70 to 80% of the immune system is located in the gut. An unhealthy gut microbiome means that the immune system is compromised. With the gut microbiome under constant threat by factors such as radiation, food crops sprayed with Glyphosates (Roundup), and other agricultural chemicals, as well as too much sugar and salt in our diets, a good probiotic is needed to keep the gut, and by implication, the immune system healthy.

Oshun Health’s Pro32 Probiotic contains 9 strains and 32 different species of live, soil-based probiotics that live on a food source of fulvic acid and molasses.

The microbes in Pro32 was carefully selected to establish a sound habitat for beneficial gut microbes. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095809917301492

Studies have shown that Microbes are extremely useful in fighting off the flu.https://www.nature.com/articles/news.2011.159

Henry Deale: For symptomatic relief I suggest the following:

Curcumin Boost: As mentioned before, curcumin has been shown to be effective in curbing the cytokine storm which can be triggered by the virus http://iv.iiarjournals.org/content/29/1/1.full and it is, therefore, worth taking a good curcumin product with absorption technology that ensures proper absorption. Oshun Health’s Curcumin Boost, not only, contains piperine which makes it 2000 times more bioavailable, it’s also based on cutting edge liposomal technology which maximises absorption.
Pro32 Probiotic: As mentioned above, a good probiotic is important to support the immune system.
Fulvit C 1000: Although we don’t believe that healthy individuals should be taking high doses of ascorbic acid, there are situations, such as COVID-19, where high doses of ascorbic acid has been shown to be helpful and is, therefore, justified. Fulvit C 1000 is a short (2 weeks) course of high dose ascorbic acid with added fulvic acid. Fulvic acid renders the L-Ascorbic Acid in the product 4 – 6 times more absorbable.
Fulvic Acid with Zinc and Selenium: As explained above, fulvic acid is a potent antiviral and, in the case of other viruses, has been shown to be effective even after a person has become symptomatic. Refer to the above section on fulvic acid. I’ve also explained why Zinc and Selenium are important for the immune system.

Henry Deale: For recovering individuals I recommend the following:

Phyto Fuel: Phyto Fuel is a whole food extract of organic aloe vera, beetroot, curcumin, ginger, lemon, piperine and fulvic acid in a liposomal base. Beetroot is a very good source of nitrate and provides a natural way of increasing nitric oxide levels in the body. Several pathologies are associated with diminished nitric oxide bioavailability, especially hypertension and endothelial function. Furthermore, beetroot is a promising therapeutic treatment for many illnesses associated with oxidative stress and inflammation which is typical of COVID-19. The betalain pigments in beetroot have potent antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and chemo-preventative activity in vitro and in vivio https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4425174/
Fulvic Acid with Zinc and Selenium: Fulvic acid has many properties other than the fact that it’s an antiviral. It naturally contains 75 different minerals and trace elements, is the most potent natural electrolyte known, is a very strong antioxidant and helps the body with detoxification. All of these properties will help someone with the disease on the road to recovery.

Disclaimer: Oshun Health does not provide medical advice or medication for ailments. Oshun Health does, however, provide essential elements to wellbeing through its products which, in turn, help the body to heal itself

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Fulvic Acid as a Potent Antiviral

Updated: 25 February 2025

Reading time: 10 minutes

Research shows that humic acid, of which fulvic acid forms part, binds so strongly to viruses that it can actually displace them from a cell surface. In vitro studies have shown, for example, that if you allow herpes simplex viruses to attach to host cells and then add humic acid to the solution, it will displace viruses from infected cell surfaces. That is, humic acid has a greater affinity for the virus than the virus does for the host cell. Thus, humic acid can actually displace a virus even after it has attached itself to the surface of a cell.[6]

The following article was originally posted by Michael Ash for the website of Clinical Education, a ‘Not for Profit’ organisation that brings a range of educational experiences to healthcare professionals. Follow Clinical Education by clicking on the following link: https://www.clinicaleducation.org/

The interview with Richard J Laub, MS, PhD, CChem, FRSC, was conducted by Focus Allergy Research Group.

*Note by Oshun Health: Humic Acids referred to in this article is the collective name for both humic acid and fulvic acid. In order to utilise humic acid, it is broken down to fulvic acid in the human gut. This is because humic acid is not soluble at the low pH (acidic) level of the stomach whereas fulvic acid is soluble at any pH level. The antiviral properties referred to in the article, therefore, applies to fulvic acid as well as humic acid.

An Interview with: Richard J Laub, MS, PhD, CChem, FRSC, is a chemist with nearly 150 peer-reviewed published research papers, sixteen patents, and numerous invited reviews and symposium presentations. He was formerly a professor of chemistry at The Ohio State University and San Diego State University, was a fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry in London, England, was an Alcoa fellow in San Diego, and a Science Research Council fellow in Swansea, Wales. For the last 17 years, Dr. Laub has focused exclusively on sourcing, analysing, studying, extracting and purifying humic acid, a remarkable high-mineral, healing substance with potent antiviral properties, found in ancient soil deposits.

Focus: You have devoted the last 17 years of your life to researching humic acid, an extract of ancient organic soil deposits. These ancient soil deposits—named humus, or humin, from the Greek word for soil—can be found all over the world and contain highly-concentrated minerals and healing substances. It’s interesting that in essence, the soil that nourishes plant life–and later the plant that dies and becomes part of the soil–contains such potent healing substances. Can you give us some basic facts about humic and fulvic acids before we discuss the health benefits?

RJL: Both humic and fulvic acids are extracts from composted organic matter and prove to be excellent mineral supplements. They excel at providing all the trace minerals we need. Fulvic acid is a small and somewhat rigid molecule, with a molecular weight of about 1,500 daltons (a dalton is a unit of mass commonly used in chemistry). Humic acid is equally potent as a mineral supplement, but is a much heavier, bigger molecule. It weighs about 50,000 daltons. Humic acid is flexible, because it is made up of many chains of molecules. It looks a bit like a series of wagon wheels, one inside the other, with spokes going from one wheel to the next. This flexibility is a very important contributor to its antiviral properties.

Focus: What do these very different shapes—small and rigid, or large and flexible—mean in terms of human health?

RJL: Because of its size and flexibility, certain humic acids from particular soil deposits turn out to be potent, broad-spectrum antivirals. That is because humic acid contains many kinds of “functional groups” (specific groups of atoms) that can bind to a multitude of viruses. Research has shown certain humic acids to be effective in vitro against a wide range of viruses, including influenza, HSV, HIV, and others.[1],[2],[3],[4],[5]

Focus: How exactly does humic acid bind to a virus?

RJL: Binding occurs through hydrogen bonding. Electropositive atoms attract electronegative atoms. These are the same forces that hold DNA together. What is remarkable is that humic acid, with its many kinds of functional groups, binds more strongly to viruses than do our own cells. Certain humic acids from certain soil deposits are essentially like a really, really sticky piece of Velcro. Viruses also have really sticky sites—that’s how they manage to bind to a host cell. When these two very sticky pieces of Velcro come together they bind together very strongly.

Focus: Can you explain what a virus does once it attaches to a cell receptor?

RJL: It essentially pokes a hole in the cell, and injects either its RNA or DNA–its genomic material–into the cell. At that point the virus has essentially spent itself, but the viral material inside the cell uses the cell’s machinery to create more viruses, which then leave the cell and go on to bind to and infect other cells.

Focus: What happens to a virus when it binds to humic acid instead of a cell surface?

RJL: Humic acid essentially neutralises a virus’s chemical “stickiness”. Doing so in turn prevents the virus from reproducing since it can no longer attach (“fuse”) to the surface of a host cell. The immune system can then begin to eliminate the virus (largely through the action of macrophages). Also, viruses don’t live forever: if not allowed to reproduce, influenza viruses, for example, die out in 36-48 hours.

Focus: What happens if viruses have already attached to your cells? Can humic acid help?

RJL: Humic acid binds so strongly to viruses that it can actually displace them from a cell surface. In vitro studies have shown, for example, that if you allow herpes simplex viruses to attach to host cells and then add humic acid to the solution, it will displace viruses from infected cell surfaces. That is, humic acid has a greater affinity for the virus than the virus does for the host cell. Thus, humic acid can actually displace a virus even after it has attached itself to the surface of a cell.[6]

Focus: That’s quite amazing—that this natural substance can displace viruses that have already locked onto cells. Is this true of any humic acid from around the world?

RJL: No. Humic acid varies dramatically from site to site. Humic acids from different deposits have very different physicochemical properties. Just like coal—the coal from South Africa is very different in makeup than the coal from Birmingham in Britain. For instance, one of the better-known humic acid deposits in the United States occurs in the state of New Mexico, where humic acid is mined for agriculture–as a fertiliser–and also for the petroleum industry as a drilling mud additive. From an agricultural standpoint New Mexico humic acid is great, but it is not very effective at combating human viruses. A lot of the research I carried out in the early days was simply obtaining samples of humic acid from around the world and testing them to see which ones were efficacious against human viral disease. Remember, humic acid is the result of composted organic matter that is 50-100,000 years old, and that can be found almost anywhere—places where there are freshwater deposits and vegetation living around freshwater lakes, other places where there are saltwater deposits and decomposed organic matter at the edge of marine environments. Some humic acids come from decomposed forests, others from marshes, peat bogs, or scrub-brush. Any plant can be composted into humic acid, but the enormous variety of plant life means that each source of humic acid is unique.

Focus: Once you found the ideal antiviral humic acid, what did you do?

RJL: The next challenge was to purify and sterilise it without degrading it. When you first dig humic acid out of the ground it is dark-brown or even black. Shilajit is a very crude form of humic acid that has been used around the world for hundreds (if not thousands) of years. The most familiar form of humic acid looks like coal, and is sometimes called leonardite or brown coal—though it isn’t actually coal. So, the challenge was to extract the humic acid without damaging it. Methodologies suitable for sterilisation of the final processed product also took very considerable research and development. (The original microbes that created the humus are of course long since dead, but other bacteria and moulds flourish in such soil deposits.) Overall, ten solid years of research and development were required to identify a quality source of humic acid that could also be purified and sterilised without diminishing its effectiveness as a human antiviral agent.

Focus: If one takes humic acid orally, when do peak blood levels occur?

RJL: Peak levels occur at about four hours. By eight to twelve hours the substance is pretty much cleared out of the bloodstream.

Focus: Do you think it has any other special properties beyond being a great mineral source and a potent antiviral?

RJL: Some researchers claim it boosts the immune system, but I’m not convinced it does so directly.[7] I think that humic acid’s wide spectrum of important trace minerals, coupled with its antiviral properties, result in a stronger immune system indirectly. Some of the trace minerals are present in very, very tiny amounts—just a few parts per million—but that’s exactly what we need to support enzyme functions among other things. I also think there are a lot of viruses we are all carrying that haven’t yet been identified (“stealth” viruses). But humic acid will bind to them, regardless.

Focus: That just shows you the broad-spectrum action of humic acid, so that it’s likely to work on many viruses we carry that have not yet been identified. I assume you take it yourself?

RJL: Of course. And I haven’t had a cold or the flu since 2004. Not one.

References

[1] F. J. Lu, S. N. Tseng, et al. In Vitro Anti-Influenza Virus Activity of Synthetic Humate Analogues Derived from Protocatechuic Acid. Arch. Virol. 2002, 147(2), 273-284 View Abstract

[2] C. E. J. van Rensburg, J. Dekker, et al. Investigations of the Anti- HIV Properties of Oxihumate. Chemotherapy 2002, 48(3), 138-143. View Abstract

[3] G. Kornilaeva, A. Becovich, et al. New Humic Acid Derivative as Potent Inhibitor of HIV-1 Replication. Med. Gen. Med. 2004, 6(3), A10360 View Summary PDF

[4] R. Kloecking, B. Helbig, G. Schotz, et al. Anti-HSV-1 Activity of Synthetic Humic Acid-Like Polymers Derived from p-Diphenolic Starting Compounds. Arch. Chem. Chemother. 2002, 13(4), 241-249

[5] Laub Biochem Specialty Labsl, 2001-2002, research conducted by contract for Virology Branch of the Antiviral Research and Antimicrobial Chemistry Program (Dr. Christopher Tseng, Program Officer), Division of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (DMID) Screening and Testing Program for Antiviral, Immunomodulatory, Antitumor and/or Drug Delivery Activities, National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), under the auspices of the National Institutes of Health (NIH, Bethesda, Maryland)

[6] Laub Biochem Specialty Labs, Humic Acid Inhibition of HSV Infection. 1998

[7] G. K. Joone, J. Dekker, et al. Investigation of the Immunostimulatory Properties of Oxihumates. Z. Naturforsch. C: J. Biosci. 2003, 58(3/4) 263-267. PMID: 12710739 View Abstract LinkedInFacebookTwitterEmailPrintMor

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Do natural products have a role to play in the fight against Corona Viruses and, more importantly, when a person is already symptomatic with a disease caused by these viruses? | Oshun Health – […] Fulvic Acid: Research shows that, because of the strong positive charge on humic acids, of which fulvic acid forms…

Do natural products have a role to play in the fight against Corona Viruses and, more importantly, when a person is already symptomatic with a disease caused by these viruses?