Scientists have found two new possible AIDS treatments in the bark of trees from Argentina and Africa. Swiss researchers at a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science a couple of weeks ago reported an African tree has yielded an anti-fungus compound that could prevent mouth infections in AIDS patients. The compound, found in the bark and roots of the Bobgunnia madagascariensis tree, kills Candida albicans and Aspergillis infections. Candida is a yeast fungus that we all have in the gut, but it shouldn’t grow in the mouth and throat (thrush) – unless someone has AIDS. If not controlled quickly, thrush causes pain and swelling and may make swallowing very difficult, which in turn leads to potentially dangerous weight loss.
Separately, researchers from the University of Panama reported that an extract from a tree in Argentina also demonstrated distinct anti-HIV activity and is now being developed in conjunction with scientists in Spain.
Of course, these compounds are being assessed in the test tube, not in people – that’s a long way off, even assuming further analysis proves positive. Still, it gives hope that potential new treatments are being identified; and it also strengthens arguments against destroying native habitats without understanding what is being lost.
There’s also a silver lining here that most people don’t realize: The research on HIV/AIDS pays off in many ways. Although it is the urgency and death of AIDS that typically drives the research, these drugs frequently have usefulness way beyond AIDS. In this case, the most common candida sufferers are not people with AIDS – they’re women with vaginal yeast infections, i.e., vaginal candidiasis, so this AIDS drug development may actually help many other patients, too.
This article appears in March 17 • 2000.