New antiviral chewing gum may fight infection, curb spread of flu & herpes virus

New Delhi, April 05: A team of US researchers have developed a new antiviral chewing gum that showed the potential to substantially reduce viral loads of two herpes simplex viruses and two influenza A strains in experimental models.

Seasonal influenza epidemics occur annually, causing a substantial global disease burden. The herpes simplex virus-1 (HSV-1), spread primarily through oral contact, infects over two-thirds of the global population.

Low vaccination rates for influenza viruses and the lack of an HSV vaccine underscore the need for a new approach.

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania targeted the oral cavity to fight against these viruses, which are transmitted more via the mouth than the nose.

In the study, published in the journal Molecular Therapy, the team tested the ability of chewing gum made from lablab beans. They tested Lablab purpureus -- which naturally contains an antiviral trap protein (FRIL) -- to neutralise HSV-1 and HSV-2, and two influenza A strains H1N1 and H3N2.

The chewing gum formulation allowed for effective and consistent release of FRIL at sites of viral infection.

They demonstrated that 40 milligrams of a two-gram bean gum tablet was adequate to reduce viral loads by more than 95 per cent.

Importantly, the researchers prepared the gum as a clinical-grade drug product to comply with the US FDA specifications for drug products and found the gum to be safe.

“These observations augur well for evaluating bean gum in human clinical studies to minimise virus infection/transmission,” said Henry Daniell, Professor at Penn’s School of Dental Medicine.

The team is now looking to use lablab bean powder to tackle bird flu -- currently having a significant impact in North America.

“Controlling transmission of viruses continues to be a major global challenge. A broad-spectrum antiviral protein (FRIL) present in a natural food product (bean powder) to neutralise not only human flu viruses but also avian (bird) flu is a timely innovation to prevent their infection and transmission,” Daniell said.