A compound found in geranium plants can be used to treat HIV-1, the most common form of the virus
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According to the British “Daily Mail” website reported on January 31, the HIV virus is divided into two types – HIV-1 type and HIV-2 type. The vast majority of AIDS patients are infected with the HIV-1 virus. An extract from the geranium plant could become a new type of medicine for the treatment of HIV-1 AIDS, say researchers at the German Center for Environmental Health Research in Munich.
The researchers found that the root extract of the geranium plant contains a compound that fights the HIV-1 virus and prevents it from replicating in the human body.
They found that the extract also protected blood and immune cells from HIV infection.
The extract can prevent HIV virus particles from binding to human cells, thus effectively preventing the virus from invading cells.
Some clinical trials have confirmed that geranium extract is not harmful to humans, and in Germany, the use of the geranium extract to manufacture herbal medicines has been approved.
Professor Ruth Black-Werner, who led the research team, said: “The (geranium) extract points a promising path towards the development of the first scientifically proven botanical medicine for the treatment of HIV-1 AIDS.”( The way the extracts fight HIV-1 is different from all drugs currently in clinical use for HIV-1 AIDS. Therefore, [they] may be an important addition to established AIDS treatments.” “Additionally, with limited resources, (the) extracts have the potential to be a drug for HIV-1 AIDS treatment because they are easy to produce and do not require refrigeration.”
“Now that the results of the study have come out and the safety of the extract has been confirmed, the next step will be to test it in patients infected with HIV-1.”
According to the World Health Organization, the number of AIDS patients worldwide exceeds 35 million, and the vast majority of them are infected with the HIV-1 virus.
Left untreated, HIV can destroy the immune system and cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), which threatens patients’ lives. AIDS is one of the ten deadliest diseases in the world.
