Jerusalem, December 5, 2008 : A substance made from edible marine algae could help to stop the spread coronavirus, according a study. Jerusalem Post reported that researchers from Tel Aviv University (TAU), believe that ulvan, a major water-soluble polysaccharide, could be used to stop coronavirus infecting human cells.
Professor Alexander Golberg, TAU’s Director of Research, stated that “lack of vaccines can lead to the death of many people and even accelerate the creation of new types.”
“The study is still in its infancy, but we hope that the discovery will help us to develop an effective and accessible drug that will prevent infection with the coronavirus in the future.He said that the findings at this stage are encouraging and that he is optimistic.The study was published in PeerJ, a peer-reviewed science journal.
The team decided to test certain seaweed compounds against Covid because of other research.
They decided to test ulvan, as it could be extracted from common seaweed.
Golberg stated that ulvan is made from marine algae called Ulva.This is also known as’sea lettuce’ and is used in food production in places like Japan and New Zealand.”It has been reported that ulvan is effective against certain viruses in agriculture, as well as against some human viruses.We asked for its activity when coronavirus arrived.
They grew Ulva alga, extracted the ulvan and sent it to Alabama’s Southern Research Institute.The US team created a cellular model that could be used to evaluate the activity of the substance from Golberg’s laboratory.
Both the coronavirus as well as ulvan were given to the cells.The coronavirus was not infected in the presence ulvan.He stated that ulvan “prevents the cells being infected by coronavirus.”
He stated that the best thing was to vaccinate the entire world.It has been shown that this is unlikely, at least not immediately.
Golberg stated that the virus will continue to evolve as long as billions of people in low-income countries do not have access.”It is important that we find a cost-effective and accessible solution that will be affordable to all people, even those who are economically poor in developing countries, because this will help save the world.
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