At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic that has left almost 35,000 dead in Mexico to date, the Secretary of the Interior, Olga Sánchez Cordero, stated in an interview with W Radio that she did not use face masks to protect herself because she was "armored" thanks to a few drops of citrus nanoparticles that according to the official, "destroy viruses".
There have been several statements by Sánchez Cordero about this product, which he has described as “magic drops”. In a radio interview, he affirmed that he has distributed them among his collaborators and the governors of other States affected by Covid-19. Senator Martí Batres and the Governor of Hidalgo, Omar Fayad, also promoted them through their social networks, receiving hundreds of comments interested in buying them.
These are the drops of citrus nanoparticles that the Secretary of the Interior @M_OlgaSCordero spoke about a few days ago. They are a creation of Mexican scientists. pic.twitter.com/S85KI9NJ0B
- Martí Batres (@martibatres) July 1, 2020I know that many were struck by the "magic" drops that my teacher gave me @M_OlgaSCordero. For everyone who asked me, they are nanoparticulates in drops with citrus extracts, terpenes, flavonoids, orange and vitamin C. Greetings!
- Omar Fayad (@omarfayad) April 1, 2020At Verne we spoke with medical specialists and the creator of the product to learn more about what citrus nanoparticle drops really are. Spóiler : they do not help prevent the spread of coronavirus nor are they a treatment to cure the disease.
The product that is sold only through a website on the internet is called Gasdem B, the 30 ml dropper costs 499 pesos ($ 22) and is advertised as a food supplement that contains zinc, water and particulate nano citrus. That is, micronized doses of vitamin C. What does this mean? "There is the possibility of micronizing many products in small fractions. Nanoparticles are a pharmaceutical form and at the moment there is no scientific evidence that can sustain that nanoparticles help to treat or prevent this pandemic disease, ”says Dr. Omar Francisco Carrasco, head of the Department of Pharmacology at the Faculty of Medicine of the UNAM.
Although there is a widespread belief that vitamin C helps fight viruses and prevents us from getting sick, the reality is that this is not the case, as Materia's colleagues already mentioned in this article . "It has not been shown that taking citric acid guarantees that the virus lasts less in the body," adds Carrasco, who explains that although citric acid can break the membrane that surrounds some viruses and inactivate them, as is the case with influenza, "it is not it still has enough scientific support to recommend it against the coronavirus ”and adds that citric acid is a compound that can be dangerous if consumed indiscriminately, since in high concentrations“ it can be very dangerous ”. "Today there is no proven therapeutic strategy for the prevention or treatment of coronavirus," says the chief of pharmacology at UNAM.
The World Health Organization (WHO) says that "although some western or traditional medicine solutions or home remedies can be comforting and alleviate mild symptoms of Covid-19, so far no medicine has been shown to prevent or cure this disease" .
The developer of the drops, Gabriela León, a Mexican biochemical engineer with more than 12 years of experience in the sector of sanitizing and antibacterial products, tells Verne in a telephone interview that despite what the secretary said, her product does not prevent contagion . "We cannot say that if you take it, it will prevent or cure you because it is not a medicine, it is a food supplement so that the immune system is much stronger", explains León.
The engineer, owner of the company Gresmex, says that the technology used in its products is based on science developed for more than a decade, endorsed by the United Nations and the Davos Economic Forum and acknowledges that given the situation of the pandemic, they rushed to bring the new product to market. León ensures that the product helps to improve the "bioavailability of nutrients", that is, the absorption that the body makes of the nutrients.
Gabriela León says that she met with the Secretary of the Interior, at which time she discovered the new product and that her company has made some donations of Gasdem B to Health and Army personnel, but that no massive purchase has been made since Government. "We are facing a totally unknown virus and we must take all the necessary precautions, including wearing a mask, keeping the safety distance, sanitizing spaces, disinfecting the cell phone, etc.," says León.
A food supplement is not a treatment
Alejandro Macías, one of the most recognized infectious diseases in Mexico and national commissioner against H1N1 influenza, does not agree with the promotion and recommendation of this type of preparation. "It seems irresponsible to me that people at levels of authority that we are talking about [secretary of the interior, senators and governors of states] propagate this information, which is most likely to be false information," says the doctor. Disguising some food supplement is done to circumvent health regulation. Food supplements are out of the action of the drug regulatory authority, "explains Macías.
Omar Francisco Carrasco points out that supplements of this type do not have any therapeutic effect on the body. Its consumption is not dangerous but neither have other effects. "The concentration of inputs from these products have no therapeutic effect, no harm, and no effect on the body," he says.
Although it is true that nowhere on the Gasdem B website is the product related to the coronavirus, the advertising made by members of the Government in the midst of the pandemic and the moment it was launched on the market have motivated many buyers to purchase the drops for “Prevention”, as Beatriz Pacheco, a housewife from Mexico City says to Verne . The company preferred not to comment on how much demand for the product has increased in recent weeks.
"I knew of the drops from their existence from the interview with the lawyer Olga Sánchez Cordero and as soon as I knew they were for sale I decided to buy them." Pacheco decided to order two droppers by mail, for a total of more than 1,000 pesos ($ 50). “Although the economy is very difficult, if there is no health, we cannot work. My parents are older adults and although here at home we take all the measures we know that there are many people who do not, "says the woman.
The WHO notes that the most effective ways to protect yourself from Covid-19 are to wash your hands frequently; avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth frequently; Cover your mouth with your elbow and keep a distance of at least a meter from other people.
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