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

Sep 29, 2026

Uploaded by Jiven

A clinical-grade chewing gum was formulated with a natural viral trap protein (FRIL) to reduce viral loads at oral transmission sites. The study reports high stability of FRIL in lablab bean powder (683 days) and in chewing gum (790 days), maintaining full functionality after ambient storage. Bean gum extracts trapped HSV-1/HSV-2 efficiently via dose-dependent self-aggregation, released >50% FRIL within 15 minutes of chewing, and achieved >95% plaque reduction with quantified potency for multiple influenza and HSV strains.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages17

Reading Time43 min

AccessFree to download

INTRODUCTION

Oral viral transmission and need for viral-load reduction

Limitations of current injectable biologics

Chewing-gum delivery approach using plant cell encapsulation

Original Article Debulking inﬂuenza and herpes simplex virus strains by a wide-spectrum anti-viral protein formulated in clinical grade chewing gum Henry Daniell, 1,4 Yuwei Guo, 1,4 Rahul Singh, 1 Uddhab Karki, 1 Rachel J. Kulchar, 1 Geetanjali Wakade, 1 Juha-Matti Pihlava,2 Hamid Khazaei,2,3 and Gary H. Cohen 1 1Department of Basic & Translational Sciences, School of Dental Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; 2Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Helsinki, Finland; 3Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland 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 clinicalgrade 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 dosedependent manner through virus self-aggregation. Mastication simulator released >50% release ofFRIL within 15 min of chewing the bean gum. In plaque reduction assays, >95% neutralization ofH1N1 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. INTRODUCTION In today’s tightly connected world, infectious disease is becoming amore severe and frequent threat due to several factors, including climate changes, population density, increased international mobility, and rapid urbanization in low-income countries with poor adoption of public health measures.1,2 Of recent concern is the coronavirus pandemic, in which severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) led to 􀀁 7 million documented deaths worldwide.3 In addition, the past twenty years have witnessed several high-impact infectious disease outbreaks (H1N1, SARS, Ebola, Zika virus) with enormous global health burden and economic loss. In addition, regional outbreaks with viruses like Inﬂuenza A H7N9 and H5N1, Lassa fever virus, and MERS coronavirus have caused drastic local losses.4 Improvement in infectious disease management measures is much needed to prepare for the growing threat of infectious disease, considering the absence of much-needed vaccines against viruses like HSV and low vaccination rates for viruses like Inﬂuenza virus and Ebola.5 The key to an effective disease control measure is reducing viral loads in routes of transmission or at portals of viral entry and exit. Ample evidence suggested that intraoral viral load is correlated with risk of disease transmission, with oral transmission 3-5 orders higher than nasal transmission.6–9 Furthermore, the continuous infection of COVID-19, irrespective of receiving booster vaccines and the recent polio outbreaks in Israel and New York, highlights the need to address their routes of transmission.10, 11 Coronavirus, Inﬂuenza, HPV, HSV1, EBV, and KSHV viruses are transmitted orally, and their lifecycle in the oral epithelium is well characterized.12–15 New methods targeting intraoral viral load reduction are especially needed for epidemics where vaccines and therapeutics are not available. Effective transmission prevention strategy becomes very important in the scenario where almost 1 in 3 men are infected with at least one type of

FAQs

Why does the study focus on reducing viral loads at oral transmission sites?

Oral virus transmission is reported to be several orders of magnitude higher than nasal transmission, and limited vaccine coverage plus waning immunity increase the need to reduce viral loads where transmission occurs.

What is FRIL and how is it delivered?

FRIL is a natural viral trap protein formulated into clinical-grade chewing gum using lablab bean-based extracts, enabling oral topical delivery and controlled release after chewing.

How is antiviral performance evaluated in the study?

Antiviral neutralization is assessed through virus neutralization and plaque reduction assays, measuring the concentrations of bean gum extract needed to achieve high levels of viral reduction for influenza and HSV strains.

Sep 29, 2026

Uploaded by Jiven