The conclusion belongs to a new study

Mar 15, 2010 15:01 GMT  ·  By
This is a 3-D structure of BanLec, a chemical isolated from bananas identified as a potent new inhibitor of HIV infection
   This is a 3-D structure of BanLec, a chemical isolated from bananas identified as a potent new inhibitor of HIV infection

In a new series of scientific experiments, conducted inside the tightly-controlled confines of a research lab, experts have demonstrated that lectins derived from bananas are just as effective in stopping the spread of the HIV virus as two of the best drugs available aimed at doing the same. Over the past few years, this class of naturally-occurring substances has become the target for many investigations, due to their potential to stop the series of chemical reactions that led to a host of severe infections. The new results could lead to the development of a new type of drug against HIV, ScienceDaily reports.

The lectin tested in the lab is called BanLec. It is found in the common banana, and it proved to be extremely effective at keeping HIV away. Details of the investigation that led to this conclusion appear in the March 19 issue of the respected scientific Journal of Biological Chemistry. There is no possible way of quantifying how important this breakthrough is. At this point, the rate of infection exceeds the rate at which the number of people who have been administered the drug grows by a factor of 2.5. Additionally, in spite of researchers' best efforts, it would appear that a viable vaccine against it is still a decade away, maybe even more.

“HIV is still rampant in the US and the explosion in poorer countries continues to be a bad problem because of tremendous human suffering and the cost of treating it. That's particularly true in developing countries where women have little control over [intercourse] so development of a long-lasting, self-applied microbicide is very attractive,” explains University of Michigan Health System Medical School professor of internal medicine David Marvovitz, MD. He is also the senior author of the new journal entry.

"The problem with some HIV drugs is that the virus can mutate and become resistant, but that's much harder to do in the presence of lectins. [They] can bind to the sugars found on different spots of the HIV-1 envelope, and presumably it will take multiple mutations for the virus to get around them,” adds UM-MS graduate program in immunology doctoral student Michael D. Swanson, who is also the lead author of the new study.