Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Bulgarian scientists explore the properties of stone lotus in the treatment of Covid-19

Photo: archives

Several Bulgarian scientific organizations have joined forces to prove the efficacy of the stone lotus plant (Graptopetalum paraguayense) in the treatment of influenza viruses and coronaviruses.

The research started in 2017, after Bulgarian Academy of Sciences researchers found out that the plant had a healing effect on conjunctivitis and herpes. They then decided to go further and study the healing properties of stone lotus against influenza viruses.

After the outbreak of the pandemic they focused specifically on researching the plant’s effect on human coronavirus, which is in the same family of RNA viruses as Covid-19. The effect was not as strong as for herpes and influenza viruses, but it was good enough - the activity suppressing viral replication was over 63%.

Currently, the project involves scientists from the Institutes of Organic Chemistry, Microbiology and General and Inorganic Chemistry of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, and researchers from the National Center of Infectious and Parasitic Diseases and the Agrobiological Institute of the Agricultural Academy.

More about the plant and the direction in which scientists are working - see the publication:


Compiled by: Gergana Mancheva

English: Elizabeth Radkova



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Prof. Nikolay Ovcharov (right) and Eng. Mladen Stanev in the Gobi Desert in Mongolia

Bulgarian scientific expedition leaves for the Altai Mountains in Mongolia

On June 16, a Bulgarian scientific expedition that has been in preparation for a decade will set off for Central Asia, writes 24chasa.bg. For two weeks, ancient petroglyphs and the lifestyle of the last surviving true shamans in the Mongolian part of..

published on 6/12/25 11:44 AM

Space – from the sacred places of Bulgaria to the achievements of Bulgarian scientists

The National Ethnographic Museum at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences presents its new exhibition "Starry Sky – Mythology and Science" , which covers knowledge of Space from antiquity to the present day and examines mythology, ancient beliefs and the..

published on 6/12/25 10:15 AM

Universities from the Balkans cooperate with the branch of the University of Ruse in Razgrad

The branch of the "Angel Kanchev" University of Ruse in Razgrad carries out joint scientific projects, participates in various forums and exchange of students and lecturers with higher education institutions in Bulgaria and abroad,..

published on 6/11/25 8:23 AM