Bananas against aids

[Babylon]

Bananas 'may be key to fight Aids'

4 hours 36 mins ago

Bananas may hold the key to powerful new treatments that protect against the Aids virus.
Enlarge photo



In laboratory tests, scientists found that a banana ingredient called BanLec was as potent as two existing anti-HIV drugs.
They believe cheap therapies based on BanLec have the potential to save millions of lives.
The ingredient is a lectin, a naturally occurring chemical in plants which fights infection.
Researchers in the US found that the lectin found in bananas can inhibit HIV infection by blocking the virus's entry into the body. BanLec acts on the protein "envelope" that encloses HIV's genetic material.
Lead author Michael Swanson, from the University of Michigan, said: "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.
"Lectins 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."
The research is reported in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

 

[Abunwasi]

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.&quot;In laboratory tests, BanLec, the lectin found in bananas, was as potent as two current anti-HIV drugs,&quot; according to the study. Based on the findings published this month in the scientific 'Journal of Biological Chemistry,' &quot;BanLec may become a less expensive new component of applied vaginal microbicides,&quot; researchers say.Although condom use is quite effective, condoms are most successful in preventing infection if used consistently and correctly, which is often not the case. &quot;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,&quot; says study senior author David Marvovitz.Some of the most promising compounds for inhibiting vaginal and rectal HIV transmission are agents that block HIV prior to integration into its target cell, according to the study.The new research describes the complex actions of lectins and their ability to outsmart HIV. Lectins are sugar-binding proteins. They can identify foreign invaders, like a virus, and attach themselves to the pathogen.The researcher 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.&quot;Therapies using BanLec could be cheaper to create than current anti-retroviral medications which use synthetically produced components, plus BanLec may provide a wider range of protection,&quot; the US researchers say.&quot;The problem with some HIV drugs is that the virus can mutate and become resistant, but that is much harder to do in the presence of lectins,&quot; says lead author Michael Swanson.Source: AFRO NEWS</p>

 

[Lupweko]

Sasa ndizi zitapanda bei !

 

[Lekanjobe Kubinika]

Sasa hizo ndizi zinawekwa kwenye nanihilii??? Mbona kwa wanawake tu hiyo lecitne? Kama inaliwa mdomoni na kuswekwa tumboni ikayeyushwa na kunyonywa kwenda kwenye damu mzungukoni, kwa nini isiwasaidie na wanaume???? Tabia mbaya itaana sasa hivi kutumia ndizi kiaina-aina.

 

[Kituko]

Sasa hizo ndizi zinawekwa kwenye nanihilii??? Mbona kwa wanawake tu hiyo lecitne? Kama inaliwa mdomoni na kuswekwa tumboni ikayeyushwa na kunyonywa kwenda kwenye damu mzungukoni, kwa nini isiwasaidie na wanaume???? Tabia mbaya itaana sasa hivi kutumia ndizi kiaina-aina.

swali zuri kweli,

lakini kwa Tanzania huu ugonjwa ulianzia na kuenea kwa kasi sana Kagera ambako chakula chao kikuu ni ndizi, sasa sijuhi walikuwa hawajui jinsi ya 'kuitumia"

 

[Abunwasi]

swali zuri kweli,

lakini kwa Tanzania huu ugonjwa ulianzia na kuenea kwa kasi sana Kagera ambako chakula chao kikuu ni ndizi, sasa sijuhi walikuwa hawajui jinsi ya 'kuitumia&quot;

Inawezekana pia kwa vile walikuwa na resistence kubwa miilini mwao kutokana na diet hiyo ndiyo maana ilichukuwa muda mrefu hadi wakaanza kuathirika.Pia kuna taarifa huko Baganda-Uganda[ambapo nao pia ndiyo diet yaokuna utafiti unafanywa kwa kina dada poa ambao wamedevelop resistence ya HIV-AIDS ingawa hufanya ngono zembe daily.