Ingredient in Bananas May Prevent HIV Transmission

Boston (DbTechNo) – Lectins are naturally occuring chemicals found in bananas that according to researchers maybe the next big weapon in the ongoing fight against HIV.

Scientists have been working to come up with a cure for the fatal disease, or at least a full proof way of blocking its transmission from one person to the next.

BanLec is the name of the Lectin found in bananas and in lab tests, proved as effective as two drugs on the US market to treat HIV.

They work as sugar-binding proteins that actually put a stop to the chain of reaction that commonly leads to infections thus in the case of HIV, disrupting its infection path in the body.

“HIV is still rampant in the U.S. and the explosion in poorer countries continues to be a bad problem because of tremendous human suffering and the cost of treating it,” says study senior author David Marvovitz, M.D., professor of internal medicine at the U-M Medical School.

More research needs to be done to validate this study finding, but the hope is that with the positive study outcome that one day, cheaper and more effective drugs will be available to stop transmission of HIV.

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