A natural derivative of glucose would be able to destroy viruses by simple contact. A discovery that comes as the scientific community mobilizes to find the parade against the Chinese coronavirus.
Sugar contains perhaps the lethal weapon against the most formidable viruses, HIV, Ebola, Zika, herpes, flu, hepatitis and even coronaviruses like the one responsible for the epidemic from China: cyclodextrin, a molecule derived from a natural derivative of glucose and commonly used in pharmacy, cosmetics and food additives. A team made up of scientists from the universities of Manchester (United Kingdom), Geneva and Lausanne (Switzerland) has just demonstrated in the laboratory the anti-viral effectiveness of this modified molecule, work published in the review Science Advances.
Its properties make this modified molecule a tool capable of definitively destroying viruses by simple contact while being perfectly harmless to the body. This is also its strength since, apart from vaccines, most other agents capable of killing viruses are particularly toxic and impossible to inject into the human body. As for antiviral drugs, if they are able to stop the effects of the virus, they are not powerful enough to eliminate it and often come up against mutant viruses that have become resistant.
Tested on dengue fever, herpes and hepatitis C
The researchers tested their discovery on the virus responsible for bronchiolitis, on that of dengue fever, herpes, hepatitis C, papillomavirus and on several pneumoviruses. “The treatment acts both in prevention, before the virus penetrates the cell, and once the infection is declared”, specify the scientists.
The process of action of this modified sugar molecule is that it attracts viruses before deactivating them. “It disrupts the outer envelope of the virus and destroys infectious particles by simple contact instead of only blocking viral growth”, specify the researchers.
This new antiviral weapon that can be administered as a cream, gel or nasal spray could be quickly available. “The fact that cyclodextrins are already commonly used in the food industry could facilitate the marketing of pharmaceutical treatments using them”, says Valeria Cagnon, researcher at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Geneva and co-author of the study.
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