Imagine popping a piece of gum before heading into a crowded subway or a family gathering during flu season. What if that simple act could neutralize over 95% of certain viruses lurking in your saliva, potentially stopping them from infecting you or spreading to others? It sounds like science fiction, but researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have turned this idea into reality with an innovative antiviral chewing gum derived from humble lablab beans. This 2024 research study published in Molecular Therapy, harnesses a natural protein to combat common yet troublesome viruses like influenza and herpes simplex.
As we navigate ongoing challenges from seasonal outbreaks and emerging threats, this gum represents a low-cost, non-invasive tool that could reshape how we prevent viral transmission.
The Viral Threat in Our Mouths
Viruses don’t just float through the air they thrive in the warm, moist environment of our oral cavity. Saliva is a prime hotspot for transmission, especially during talking, coughing, or sneezing. Oral spread can be thousands of times more efficient than nasal routes, making the mouth a critical battleground for pathogens.
Take influenza A strains like H1N1 and H3N2: They cause seasonal flu epidemics, racking up billions in economic losses annually over $11 billion in the U.S. alone from healthcare costs and lost productivity.
Then there’s herpes simplex virus (HSV): HSV-1 affects more than two-thirds of the global population, often causing cold sores, while HSV-2 is linked to genital herpes. Both can lead to serious complications, like infectious blindness from HSV-1, and there’s no vaccine or cure available.
Vaccines help, but they’re not perfect. Influenza vaccination rates hover around 50% in many places, and immunity wanes over time. Even vaccinated people can still shed viruses and infect others. For HSV, systemic treatments exist, but they don’t prevent outbreaks or transmission at the source.
This is where topical, oral interventions shine: They target viruses right where they replicate and spread, without relying on the body’s full immune response.
At the heart of this gum is FRIL (Flt3 Receptor Interacting Lectin), a naturally occurring protein found in lablab beans (Lablab purpureus, also known as hyacinth beans). These beans, commonly grown in tropical regions for food and fodder, contain FRIL as a lectin a type of protein that binds to specific sugar molecules (glycans) on the surfaces of cells or, in this case, viruses.
Many viruses, including influenza and HSV, have envelopes studded with glycoprotein proteins decorated with complex N-glycans. FRIL acts like a molecular Velcro, latching onto these glycans with its tetrameric (four-unit) structure. This binding cross-links multiple virus particles, causing them to clump together in aggregates. Once trapped, the viruses can’t easily attach to host cells, enter them, or escape endosomes (cellular compartments) to replicate.
It’s a mechanical blockade rather than a chemical kill, making it broad-spectrum and less likely to spur resistance.
The gum itself is a clinical-grade formulation: A 2-gram tablet incorporates finely ground lablab bean powder (about 79 mg per tablet) mixed with safe excipients like gum base, sorbitol, maltitol, and xylitol. No high heat is used during compression to preserve FRIL’s activity. Importantly, the beans are screened to ensure undetectable levels of potentially harmful compounds like vicine and convicine, which could cause issues in people with certain enzyme deficiencies.
The result is stable, edible product that’s Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) by the FDA.
The Lab Tests Led by Henry Daniell, W.D. Miller Professor at Penn’s School of Dental Medicine, the team rigorously tested the gum in controlled lab settings
They started with stability:
FRIL remained highly active in bean powder for 683 days at -20°C and in the gum for 790 days at room temperature, with less than 5% loss in potency. It stayed functional for up to 794 days, passing bioburden tests (no bacteria, yeast, or mold) and maintaining low moisture (1.28–5.9%).
Release kinetics were simulated using an ART-5 mastication device, mimicking human chewing with real molars. Over 50% of FRIL was released within 15 minutes, and 95% by 60 minutes perfect for real-world use where people chew gum briefly.
The antiviral punch came from two key assays:
● Aggregation tests: Bean gum extracts trapped 75–94% of HSV-1 and HSV-2 particles in a dose-dependent way, measured via ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay).
● Plaque reduction assays: These mimic infection in cell cultures. For about 1,000 virus particles per milliliter (a typical load), the gum neutralized over 95% of H1N1 and H3N2 at just 40 mg/mL. HSV-2 required 74 mg/mL, and HSV-1 160 mg/mL—differences likely due to varying glycan patterns on their surfaces (e.g., HSV-2’s unique gG glycoprotein).
A single 2-gram tablet provides 12–50 times the needed potency, ensuring effectiveness even with partial release.Daniell emphasizes the timeliness: “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.”
This isn’t Daniell’s first rodeo with antiviral gum. In 2021, his team developed a version using plant-produced ACE2 protein to trap SARS-CoV-2, reducing viral loads in COVID-19 patient saliva by over 95%.
That gum advanced to Phase I/II clinical trials (NCT05433181) under FDA Investigational New Drug (IND) approval.
The FRIL gum builds on that foundation, swapping ACE2 for a broader trap that works against enveloped viruses beyond coronaviruses. Lablab bean powder has even shown promise against bird flu strains like H5N1 and H7N9, which recently devastated poultry populations (over 54 million birds affected in U.S. outbreaks).
From Lab To Lives
If clinical trials confirm these findings, this bean-based gum could transform infection control in high-risk spaces like schools, clinics, and public transport. It’s affordable, needle-free, shelf-stable, and scalable even with potential use in animal feed to reduce avian flu spillover. While human trials, real-world transmission data, and regulatory approval are still needed, early lab results point to a promising path ahead.
In a pandemic-weary world, this simple chew represents a hopeful shift turning everyday habits into a frontline defense against future viral threats.
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
