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Apple a day could
keep more than the doctor away
An apple a day may keep more than just
the doctor away if British scientists have their way. They are working on ways to inject a
peptide -- a fragment of a protein -- into the fruit. The peptide blocks the bacterium
Streptococcus mutans, which causes tooth decay, so that cavities and painful visits to the
dentist could become a thing of the past.
Researchers at Guys Hospital in London
have already isolated a gene and the peptide that prevents the bacterium from sticking to
the teeth.
Professor David James, a plant
biotechnologist at the Horticulture Research International in southern England, is trying
to find ways to deliver the peptide into the mouth through apples or strawberries.
Although they are still some years
away, he and his colleagues hope that by incorporating it into fruits it can be delivered
into the mouth where it will cover the receptor sites that accept the bacteria and block
its action to stop tooth decay.
'It's a very novel strategy and
it has much wider implications in other diseases besides tooth decay,' James told a news
conference.
'Instead of killing bacteria, as you
would with antibiotics, you identify receptors on the bacteria you are targeting, and then
produce a peptide or protein to prevent the bacteria sticking to the sites it normally
sticks to,' he said.
The technique, if it is successful,
will not only help to fight tooth decay but will encourage people to eat more fruit in
line with government recommendations for a healthy diet.
Another possibility is to derive
commercial products from the peptide, such as a mouthwash, but they would probably be
regarded as pharmaceutical products, which need appropriate regulation and testing.
Scientists know that if the compound is
applied as an extract and painted on teeth it can last up to 80 days. James and his team
still do not know how much of the peptide is needed for it to be effective or how much
will be delivered in the fruit.
'To get the right amounts we need (in
the fruit) is one of our big targets for the future,' he explained.
'We hope that in the future we will be
able to get fruit tissues to produce specific 'magic bullets' like this to counteract
human diseases by the relatively simple process of eating controlled amounts of them,' he
said. |
