Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1999. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1999. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Reuters NewMedia - Monday June 28, 1999
"It has the potential to be used either as a preventative measure or as a treatment of certain important viral and bacterial infections," Dr. Halldor Thormar said in a telephone interview.
The virologist at the Institute of Biology at the University of Iceland in Reykjavik stressed that the research has been limited to laboratory tests and there is no indication how monocaprin will perform in tests on animals or humans.
But because it is a natural fat found in foods and even in mother's milk it is unlikely to cause serious side effects.
"It's something the body is familiar with. It can also be used as a contraceptive gel," Thormar added.
Other compounds have been shown to kill sexually transmitted bacteria and viruses but animal studies have showed that when they are used frequently they can sometimes become toxic.
When asked if monocaprin could prevent the spread of the HIV virus that leads to AIDS, Thormar said: "It has the potential to do that if it is used correctly. It could be a preventive measure."
Thormar and pharmacist Thordis Kristmundsdottir tested monocaprin dissolved in hydrogel, a water soluble gel, on bacteria and viruses in test tubes and on human semen.
In a report in the medical journal Sexually Transmitted Infections, the researchers said the gel destroyed HIV, herpes viruses and the bacteria that causes gonorrhea within a minute and chlamydia within five minutes.
"This is only intended for topical use as a preventive measure but you could also imagine that it could be used, not in the form of a hydrogel but in other pharmaceutical vehicles, for treatment of certain bacterial infections or genital herpes," Thormar said.
Thormar and his colleagues are planning animal studies to test the hydrogel against the herpes simplex virus and chlamydia.
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