This Plant-Based Gum Neutralizes 95% of Flu and Herpes Viruses – And Could Curb the Next Pandemic

A chewing gum made from lablab beans may be the next big tool in fighting viral transmission.

Scientists found that this gum can neutralize influenza and herpes viruses by over 95% by targeting the mouth—where many infections begin. Building on success in COVID-19 research, the team is now exploring its use against bird flu, not just in people but also in poultry, offering a novel and natural antiviral defense.

The Global Threat of Infectious Diseases

In our increasingly connected world, infectious diseases are a growing threat. Outbreaks of viruses like H1N1, SARS, Ebola, Zika, and H5N1 (bird flu), along with the COVID-19 pandemic, have shown how quickly diseases can spread and how serious their global health and economic impacts can be.

Even more common viruses also create serious challenges. Seasonal influenza returns every year, leading to widespread illness and costing the U.S. more than $11.2 billion annually. Herpes simplex virus-1 (HSV-1), which spreads mainly through oral contact, infects more than two-thirds of the global population and is the leading cause of infectious blindness in Western countries.

Rethinking Prevention: Targeting the Mouth

Low vaccination rates for the flu and the absence of a vaccine for HSV highlight the need for new strategies. One promising approach is to reduce viral load at the point of transmission. For viruses like flu and HSV, which are often spread more easily through the mouth than the nose, this means targeting the oral cavity.

Now, in a study published in Molecular Therapy, researchers at the School of Dental Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and collaborators in Finland, have done just that.

Building on their previous work—now in clinical trial—showing that a similar approach was able to reduce SARS-CoV-2 in COVID-19 patient saliva or swab samples by more than 95%, Henry Daniell, W.D. Miller Professor in Penn’s School of Dental Medicine, and collaborators tested the ability of a chewing gum made from lablab beans, Lablab purpureus—that naturally contain an antiviral trap protein (FRIL)—to neutralize two herpes simplex viruses (HSV-1 and HSV-2) and two influenza A strains (H1N1 and H3N2). The chewing gum formulation allowed for effective and consistent release of FRIL at sites of viral infection.

Potent Results with Minimal Dosage

They demonstrated that 40 milligrams of a two-gram bean gum tablet was adequate to reduce viral loads by more than 95%, a reduction similar to what they saw in their SARS-CoV-2 study.

Importantly, the researchers prepared the gum as a clinical-grade drug product to comply with the FDA specifications for drug products and found the gum to be safe. Daniell notes, “These observations augur well for evaluating bean gum in human clinical studies to minimize virus infection/transmission.”

Expanding to Fight Bird Flu

Daniell and his colleagues are now looking to use lablab bean powder to tackle bird flu, which is currently having a significant impact in North America. In the previous three months, 54 million birds have been affected by H5N1, and several human infections have been reported in the U.S. and Canada.

Previously, bean powder was shown by others to effectively neutralize H5N1 and H7N9—two strains of influenza A known to cause bird flu in humans as well as in birds. Daniell and colleagues are currently looking to test its use in bird feed to help control bird flu in birds.

A Timely Breakthrough in Viral Control

“Controlling transmission of viruses continues to be major global challenge. A broad spectrum antiviral protein (FRIL) present in a natural food product (bean powder) to neutralize not only human flu viruses but also avian (bird) flu is a timely innovation to prevent their infection and transmission,” says Daniell.

Reference: “Debulking influenza and herpes simplex virus strains by a wide-spectrum anti-viral protein formulated in clinical grade chewing gum” by Henry Daniell, Yuwei Guo, Rahul Singh, Uddhab Karki, Rachel J. Kulchar, Geetanjali Wakade, Juha-Matti Pihlava, Hamid Khazaei and Gary H. Cohen, 10 December 2024, Molecular Therapy.
DOI: 10.1016/j.ymthe.2024.12.008

Henry Daniell is the W.D. Miller Professor in the Department of Basic & Translational Sciences at the School of Dental Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

Other authors include Gary H. Cohen, Yuwei Guo, Uddhab Karki, Rachel J. Kulchar, Rahul Singh, and Geetanjali Wakade of Penn Dental Medicine, Hamid Khazaei of the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke) and the University of Finland and Juha-Matti Pihlava of the University of Finland.

Research performed in the Daniell lab is supported by NIH grant R01 HL 107904.

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