A plant has been found to halt the
deadly Ebola virus in its tracks in laboratory tests, scientists have said.
They used a compound from Garcinia
kola, a plant commonly eaten in West Africa. Compounds from the plant have also
proved effective against some strains of flu.
If the anti-Ebola compound proves
successful in animal and human trials, it will be the first medicine to
successfully treat the virus that causes Ebola haemorrhagic fever - an
often-fatal condition.
The discovery was announced at the
16th International Botanical Congress in St Louis in the US.
Fighting chance
The virus multiplies rapidly in the
human body and quickly overwhelms it, and in advanced cases the patient
develops high fever and severe bleeding.
The Garcinia kola compound has been
shown to halt multiplication of the virus in the laboratory. If repeated in
humans, this would give the body a chance to fight off the virus.
The active compound is what is known
as a dimeric flavonoid, which is two flavonoid molecules fused together.
Flavonoids are non-toxic and can be
found in orange and lemon rinds as well as the colourings of other plants.
Drug hopes
The tests are in the early stages
still, but the researchers hope that if they continue to prove successful the
compound the US Food and Drug Administration will put it on a fast track -
making a drug available to humans within a matter of years.
"The discovery of these
important properties in a simple compound - flavonoids - was very
surprising," said Dr Iwu.
"The structure of this compound
lends itself to modification, so it provides a template for future work.
"Even if this particular drug
does not succeed through the whole drug approval process, we can use it to
construct a new drug for this deadly disease."
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