Chewing a special 'chewing gum' may help prevent influenza and herpes virus infections
Infectious diseases caused by viruses have a major impact on people's lives and the economy. For example, seasonal influenza epidemics cause economic losses of $11.2 billion (approximately 1.64 trillion yen) per year in the United States,
Debulking influenza and herpes simplex virus strains by a wide-spectrum anti-viral protein formulated in clinical grade chewing gum: Molecular Therapy
https://www.cell.com/molecular-therapy-family/molecular-therapy/fulltext/S1525-0016(24)00808-6
An antiviral chewing gum to reduce influenza and herpes simplex virus transmission | Penn Today
https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/penn-dental-antiviral-chewing-gum-reduce-influenza-and-herpes-simplex-virus-transmission
New Virus-Trapping Gum Could Help Neutralize Herpes Infections : ScienceAlert
https://www.sciencealert.com/new-virus-trapping-gum-could-help-neutralize-herpes-infections
Viral infectious diseases such as influenza and herpes are a major threat to humanity, but in recent years, there has been a trend for influenza vaccination rates to decline , and the development of a herpes vaccine has stalled mainly due to a lack of funding. In addition, even if you are vaccinated, it is difficult to completely prevent infection by viruses.
A research team from the University of Pennsylvania in the United States and the University of Helsinki in Finland has developed a 'chewing gum that captures and neutralizes viruses' with the aim of preventing the further spread of viral infections. Since influenza and herpes viruses are often transmitted through fluids excreted from the patient's mouth, the aim is to focus on oral care.
The researchers tested a chewing gum made from powdered seeds of Lablab purpureus , a plant that contains a natural antiviral trap protein (FRIL) that they hope will neutralize the virus and inhibit infection.
First, the research team had a mechanical chewing simulator chew the chewing gum they developed, and measured how much FRIL was released into saliva. The results showed that chewing gum for 15 minutes released more than 50% of the FRIL contained in the gum.
Next, the researchers measured how well the simulated FRIL-containing saliva samples neutralized H1N1 and H3N2 influenza viruses and herpes simplex viruses (HSV-1 and HSV-2) . Neutralization, as used here, means that the virus is less likely to infect cells and replicate itself, so theoretically neutralization reduces the amount of virus and lowers the risk of infection.
Test results have shown that saliva produced by chewing gum neutralizes more than 95% of H1N1 and H3N2 influenza viruses, up to 75% of HSV-1 herpes viruses, and up to 94% of HSV-2 herpes viruses.
The chewing gum made in this study was prepared as a clinical grade pharmaceutical and was safe, complying with the pharmaceutical specifications of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). 'These observations bode well for evaluating gum made from hyacinth bean in human clinical trials to minimize viral infection and spread,' said Henry Daniel , lead author of the paper and professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Dentistry.
Daniel and his team also believe that lablab bean powder may be effective not only in fighting human diseases but also in combating avian influenza, which is raging in North America, and are considering testing the use of lablab bean powder in bird feed. 'Virus infection control remains a major challenge worldwide. The broad-spectrum antiviral protein (FRIL) contained in natural foods (bean powder) has the effect of neutralizing not only human influenza viruses but also avian influenza viruses. This is a timely technological innovation to prevent infection and spread,' said Daniel.
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