Debulking influenza and herpes simplex virus strains by a wide-spectrum anti-viral protein formulated in clinical grade chewing gum.

Lack of Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV) vaccine, low vaccination rates of Influenza viruses, waning immunity and viral transmission after vaccination underscore the need to reduce viral loads at their transmission sites. Oral virus transmission is several orders of magnitude higher than nasal transmission. Therefore, in this study, we evaluated neutralization of viruses using a natural viral trap protein (FRIL) formulated in clinical-grade chewing gum. FRIL is highly stable in the lablab bean powder (683 days) and in chewing gum (790 days), and fully functional (794 days) when stored at ambient temperature. They passed the bioburden test with no aerobic bacteria, yeasts/molds, with minimal moisture content (1.28-5.9%). Bean gum extracts trapped HSV-1/HSV-2 75-94% in a dose-dependent manner through virus self-aggregation. Mastication simulator released >50% release of FRIL within 15 min of chewing the bean gum. In plaque reduction assays, >95% neutralization of H1N1 and H3N2 required ∼40 mg/mL, HSV-1 160 mg/mL, and HSV-2 74 mg/mL of bean gum for 1,000 copies/mL virus particles. Therefore, a 2000 mg bean gum tablet has more than adequate potency for clinical evaluation and is safe with no detectable levels of glycosides. These observations augur well for evaluating bean gum in human clinical studies to minimize virus infection/transmission.
Competing Interests: Declaration of interests HD is a patentee in plant-based oral and topical drug delivery and was previously funded by Novo Nordisk, Bayer, Shire and Takeda. Several industry discussions for advancing clinical trials in oral or topical delivery are in progress. Complete list of patents is available in the Google Scholar or ScholarGPS links below: http://scholar.google (in PBS buffer).com/citations?user = 7sow4jwAAAAJ&hl = en https://scholargps.com/scholars/82094026790000/henry-daniell.
(Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)