Connect with us

Science

Honeysuckle Fights The Flu!

Researchers have found the first naturally occurring flu anti-viral in a common Asian variety of honeysuckle.

Published

on

Honeysuckle tea fights flu
Image Credit: Public Domain

Researchers have found the first naturally occurring flu anti-viral in a common Asian variety of honeysuckle. Just as mold’s penicillin and derivatives revolutionized treatment of bacterial infections, honeysuckle seems poised to do the same for virology.

Related »
HIV Patients Living As Long as the General Population - New Study Shows

Traditional Chinese Medicine has long used honeysuckle tea, rendered from the plant’s leaves and flowers, when combating the flu with great success. Previous studies confirmed the remedies efficacy against the flu virus but could not determine how the plant prevented illness.

Leaves and flowers are used in honeysuckle tea to fight the flu.Wikicommons

Both leaves and flowers are used in honeysuckle tea to fight the flu

The Science of Honeysuckle – the Influenza Defense

Now scientists are honing in on the precise mechanisms of action in the honeysuckle flower and leaves which seem to inhibit viral replication.

A microRNA sequence, named MIR2911, isolated from honeysuckle leaves and flowers appears to disrupt influenza genes PB2 and NS1. Furthermore, both genes are crucial components for the viral proliferation that leads to full-blown influenza.

(Article Continues Below...)

Read More


 

microRNA molecule in honeysuckle disrupts flu cycleWikicommons

Model of typical viral proliferation. The microRNA molecule in the flower disrupts this cycle.

Currently, Influenza A and H1N1 (Swine Flu) show sensitivity to the flower’s superpower. Researchers hope to find more viruses susceptible to the Honeysuckle plant as anti-viral medications lag far behind their antibiotic counterparts. However this discovery still remains in early stages.

Write to Kristen E. Strubberg at kstrubberg@tgnreview.com

Source: Sci-News

Join the Conversation - Follow TGNR on Social Media: Facebook, Twitter, TumblrPintrest, Instagram, & Flipboard

Kristen E. Strubberg is the Editor-in-Chief for TGNR. Kristen founded TGNR in 2013 - seeking to create a high quality platform for original, eclectic and substantive positive news journalism by attracting expert contributors in many varying subjects. Kristen also works as a clinical medical researcher in Cardiology, with an original background in Neuroscience. Her passion for science has translated to her science-fiction specialization, with her highly adept published insights into the best of sci-fi’s popular culture. Kristen has served as TGNR’s Editor-in-Chief since 2013.

Comments

LISTEN TO THE A.D. HISTORY PODCAST