In today’s interconnected world, viral diseases contribute to significant global health challenges and economic costs. Seasonal influenza epidemics cause a substantial disease burden and economic losses exceeding $11.2 billion annually in the United States alone. Meanwhile, herpes simplex virus-1 (HSV-1), spread primarily through oral contact, infects over two-thirds of the global population and is the leading cause of infectious blindness in Western countries.
Low vaccination rates for influenza viruses and the lack of an HSV vaccine underscore the need for a new approach—one that targets reducing viral loads at the sites where transmission occurs. Now, in a study published in Molecular Therapy, researchers at Penn Dental Medicine and collaborators in Finland have done just that.
Building on their previous work—now in clinical trials—showing that a similar approach was able to reduce SARS-CoV-2 in COVID-19 patient saliva or swab samples by more than 95%, Henry Daniell, W.D. Miller Professor at Penn Dental Medicine, and collaborators tested the ability of a chewing gum made from lablab beans (Lablab purpureus)—which naturally contain an antiviral trap protein (FRIL)—to neutralize two herpes simplex viruses (HSV-1 and HSV-2) and two influenza strains. They prepared clinical-grade chewing gum to comply with FDA specifications and demonstrated its safety and efficacy. Forty milligrams of a two-gram bean gum tablet was adequate to reduce viral loads by more than 95%, and antiviral efficacy was maintained for up to 823 days when the chewing gum was stored at room temperature.
Daniell and his colleagues are now looking to use lablab bean powder to tackle bird flu, which is currently having a significant impact in North America. In the past three months, 54 million birds have been affected by H5N1, and several human infections have been reported in the U.S. and Canada.
Previously, bean powder has been shown by a collaborating laboratory to effectively neutralize H5N1 and H7N9—two strains of influenza A known to cause bird flu. Daniell and his colleagues are currently looking to test its use in bird feed to help control the spread of the disease.
“A broad-spectrum antiviral protein (FRIL) present in a natural food product (bean powder) to neutralize not only human flu viruses but also avian (bird) flu is a timely innovation to prevent infection and transmission,” says Daniell.
Research performed in the Daniell lab was supported by NIH grant R01 HL 107904.
