Eastern Visayas State University produces immunity-boosting drink for frontliners

The Eastern Visayas State University (EVSU) has created a "natural immune system booster" drink amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) threat in the country.

Dubbed ExCITE, which stands for "Extinguishing Communicable Infection Through Edible plant source," the drink is made from carrot extract, malunggay, and calamansi.

The mix of ingredients makes the drink rich in iron, Vitamin C, Potassium, Beta-carotene, Calcium, which they said are "all nutrients needed to boost one’s immunity against COVID-19."

As of Monday, EVSU has already produced and donated 2,200 bottles of ExCITE to frontliners Tacloban City, including volunteers at the Yolanda relocation sites.

It's targeting to produce an additional 2,500 bottles of the drink to be given to frontliners.

"The production is now going on and made possible in collaboration with the technical expertise of nutritionists, food technologists and home economists of the College of Technology," EVSU President Dominador O. Aguirre, Jr said in a statement from CHED.

"We do this to provide a healthy drink that could boost one’s immune system, especially those serving as frontliners in medical institutions, the community volunteers and  the vulnerable age groups," he added.

The Northwest Samar State University (NwSSU) has earlier produced energy-boosting cookies and immunity-boosting juice for frontliners battling COVID-19.

Similarly, students from the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman created a ginger-calamansi immunity-boosting concentrate, which they donated to frontliners in several Quezon City hospitals.

—JCB, GMA News