FRUITS AND AIDS

Banana protein could boost battle against Aids

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Posted Tuesday, March 16 2010 at 19:27

NEW YORK, Tuesday

Scientists have found a special protein in the banana that could help women prevent being infected by HIV during sexual intercourse. They hope this may open the door to new and cheaper treatments to prevent the spread of Aids.

The researchers, from the US University of Michigan Medical School, have an emerging interest in lectins, a type of proteins naturally occurring chemicals in plants, because of their ability to halt the chain of reaction that leads to a variety of infections.“In laboratory tests, BanLec, the lectin found in bananas, was as potent as two current anti-HIV drugs,” according to the study.

Become less expensive

Based on the findings published this month in the scientific ‘Journal of Biological Chemistry.

“BanLec may become a less expensive new component of applied vaginal microbicides,” researchers say.“That is particularly true in developing countries where women have little control over sexual encounters so development of a long-lasting, self-applied microbicide is very attractive,” says study senior author David Marvovitz.

Lectins are sugar-binding proteins. They can identify foreign invaders, like a virus, and attach themselves to the pathogen.The research team discovered BanLec, the lectin in bananas, can inhibit HIV infection by binding to the sugar-rich HIV-1 envelope protein, gp120, and blocking its entry to the body.“Therapies using BanLec could be cheaper to create than current anti-retroviral medications which use synthetically produced components. (Afrol News)