Scientists Create Chewing Gum that Could Protect High-Risk People from Mouth and Throat Cancer

Building on previous work creating a chewing gum made from bean gum and containing a naturally antiviral protein FRIL, researchers tested oral samples of patients for three microbes associated with cancer.

These included human papillomavirus (HPV) and two bacterial species, Porphyromonas gingivalis (Pg) and Fusobacterium nucleatum (Fn). . .

The bean gum extracts reduced HPV by 93% in saliva samples and 80% in oral rinse samples.

When protegrin, an antimicrobial peptide that kills harmful bacteria, was added to the gum, a single dose reduced Pg and Fn levels to nearly zero.

Notably, the addition of protegrin also didn’t affect beneficial bacteria found in the mouth, contrasting with radiation therapy, which reduces good bacteria and increases disease-causing yeast. (Read more from “Scientists Create Chewing Gum that Could Protect High-Risk People from Mouth and Throat Cancer” HERE)

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