The Little Book of Irish Science SFI Little Book of Irish Science | Page 17

Bananas taking a stand
against viral infection
Giving superfoods a run for their money, the banana is
now making waves in the world of anti-viral medicine.
A multinational team of researchers, including Prof Paul
Murphy’s team in the NUI Galway, have shown that a
specifi c protein known as a lectin can be isolated from the
banana and with slight modifi cation has shown promise
as an anti-viral drug. The protein called BanLec binds to
sugars on the surface of the virus thus preventing them
from entering the host’s cells and causing disease.
http://www.nuigalway.ie/
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