ABSTRACT
Background: From the emergence of the novel corona virus, several drugs have been proposed for its treatment. New compounds are being tested on a regular basis to find the most effective drug for ameliorating the symptoms of this infection. Organosulfur-rich compounds extracted from Allium sativum (garlic) has been found to have anti-viral and therapeutic effects in the management of COVID-19. Thus, this study has been designed to evaluate the efficacy of an organosulfur-derived capsule in the management of COVID-19 patients. Material and Methods: 756 patients with COVID-19 infection were enrolled for this randomized case-control study in a hospital in northern Iran, which were randomly divided into placebo and organosulfur group. From 22 September 2020 to 19 March 2021, the organosulfur group was given an organosulfur-derived capsule (90 mg/kg) three times a day (every eight hours) for 14 days. Placebo capsules were given to the placebo group on the same regiment. 720 patients completed the treatment (n=360 in each group). Clinical symptoms, vital signs, and laboratory tests were evaluated both before and after the treatment. Result: A significant difference was found in the prevalence of cough (p-value=0.015), dyspnoea (p-value=0.014), and myalgia (p-value=0.001) along with O2-saturation (p-value=0.023), platelet (pvalue=0.023) and CRP (p-value<0.001) levels between placebo and organosulfur groups. Other symptoms haven't shown a statistically significant difference. Conclusion: The present study showed that supplementary treatment of COVID-19 patients with organosulfur compounds can remarkably improve the clinical symptoms and O2-saturation along with platelet and CRP levels.