Chemical in Bananas Helps Fighting HIV
The Journal of Biological Chemistry,March 2010

A chemical, lectin known as Ban Lec, in bananas could help protect women from HIV infection.

Researchers in America have found in laboratory tests that the chemical, lectin, in bananas is as strong as two top HIV drugs.

Lectin is found in plants as a sugar binding protein, and can successfully recognise and latch on to foreign invaders in the body. By connecting to the HIV-1 envelope protein that is high in sugar content, gp120, Ban Lec is able to stop HIV from entering the body.

Ban Lec has the potential to be more affordable and effective in the form of vaginal microbicides. 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 parts of the HIV-1 envelope, and presumably it will take multiple mutations for the virus to get around them.

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