Researchers have found that a treatment made from banana protein works against all known types of COVID.
with a revolutionary new treatment made from banana protein. It is hoped that a new medicine can be made that works against all types of coronavirus.
H84T-BanLec, a chemical found in bananas, works against all known strains of influenza A and B.
The original intent of the drug was to combat influenza. In the beginning, researchers were also targeting it to fight the coronavirus. However, they were forced to halt their efforts when preventive sanctions were imposed.
Previously tested only on animals, the treatment was successful in combating COVID-19.
“We think MERS is going to be a big target that we’re concerned about because of its 35% mortality rate.” What Mr. David Markovitz, a professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of Michigan Medical School, said about it
MERS killed at least 858 people in 2015 when it quickly spread through the Middle East.
A peer-reviewed article in Cell Reports Medicine talks about how well H84T-BanLec works against MERS, wild-type SARS coronavirus, and SARS-CoV2, all of which can infect people.
Markovitz says that when COVID-19 broke out, the therapy worked in vitro and in vivo against all coronaviruses. But it needs more research .
Treatment, whether preventive or curative, is effective in the early stages of the disease. whether administered systemically or nasally in animal models. A specific lectin (protein) conjugated to carbohydrates from banana was used to create H84T-BanLec.
High-mannose glycans are polysaccharides that are often found on the surface of viruses but not on normal, healthy human cells. This protein’s powerful ability to stop viruses works on high-mannose glycans.
The virus is unable to infect cells after binding.
Atomic force microscopy and other methods confirmed that H84T forms multiple strong bonds with the spike protein. This likely explains why it is hard for a coronavirus to be resistant to the lectin, as Markovitz had thought.
Although lectins have been shown to have anti-viral effects, they have been avoided as therapies in the past, as Markovitz explains. This is because they are made of proteins that can make the immune system work in a way that is not good.
Animal models also showed this effect, but H84T-BanLec changed to get rid of it.
Remdesivir, Paxlovid, and monoclonal antibodies are just a few of the available treatments for COVID-19, but their efficacy varies. As SARS-CoV2 evolves, many treatments have become less effective and are fraught with side effects.
The team believes it has exceptional potential since H84T-BanLec is effective against all coronavirus variants in addition to influenza viruses. Markovitz and his colleagues want to take the therapy to the next, more difficult step of testing it on people.
The team’s goal is to make nasal sprays or drops. During the flu season and pandemics, it is used to treat or prevent flu and coronavirus infections.
