HIV Virus Cure: Can Soy Sauce Save the Day?

Credit: cafnrnews

According to Yomasa, a cure for the HIV virus could be nestled in pantries across America. The Japanese recently revealed its findings of a molecule in its soy sauce called EFdA that holds uncanny similarities to current anti-AIDS drugs.

It’s not unknown that EFdA is a beloved element of soy sauce and other foods as a flavor enhancer – but who knew the molecule could truly enhance our health, and perhaps prevent a deathly virus? Yamasa stated that they had a hunch about EFdA’s potential to prevent the HIV virus from affecting the immune system a long time ago, and after a decade of study, they’ve presented some interesting research:

EFdA becomes part of nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors or the NRTIs, which comprise eight more prevailing drugs for HIV. All these NRTIs seize the process of HIV spread by way of deceiving the reverse transcriptase enzyme. NRTIs are called chain terminators because they stop the copying of the DNA chain, and once incorporated it’s like a dead end.

–Stefan Sarafianos, a virologist at the Bond Life Sciences Center

Dip for the cure.
(Credit: bloglass.org.uk)

A dead end for the HIV virus? Essentially, EFdA tricks the HIV virus into catalyzing the growth of new, healthy DNA. Antiviral compounds do have a history of being discovered in surprising circumstances, but the prevalent and especially accessible nature of EFdA makes Yomasa’s discovery all the more exciting. Virologists at the University of Missouri School of Medicine are saying EFdA is even more powerful than the frequently used anti-AIDS drug Tenovir, otherwise known as “Viread,” which reduces the amount of AIDS virus in a patient’s blood. EFdA also stays in a human body longer, and doesn’t break down as easily as Tenovir. “[It’s] more potent than other drugs [in this respect],” says University of Missouri virologist stefan Sarafianos, “…our task is to look at the structural features that make it such a fantastic drug.”

“A dead end for the HIV virus? Essentially, what EFdA does is trick the HIV virus into catalyzing the growth of new, healthy DNA. “

HIV-infected T cell. (Credit: NIAID)

Working with biochemist Michael Parniak of the University of Pittsburgh, Sarafianos treated a group of monkeys infected with “simian HIV” by introducing EFdA into their diet. “These animals were so lethargic,” says Parniak, “[and] so ill, that they were scheduled to be euthanized when EFdA was administered…[but] within a month, they were bouncing around in their cages.”

The goal of developing the compound into a mass drug for human use is still in relatively early development, but the possibilities are certainly promising. It’s not as if a spoon-full of soy sauce a day will eradicate our susceptibility to the HIV virus – but it may be another excuse to go out for sushi this week.

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