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Plant based vaccines move a step closer

BMJ 1998; 316 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.316.7141.1333f (Published 02 May 1998) Cite this as: BMJ 1998;316:1333
  1. Jacqui Wise
  1. BMJ

    In the future eating a potato or banana will not just provide nutrients but may also provide protection against infectious diseases. The first clinical trials of plant based immunotherapies show that this technology is very close to application.

    In one study Julian Ma and colleagues from Guy's Hospital, London, engineered a tobacco plant to produce antibodies against Streptococcus mutans—an oral bacterial infection that contributes to dental caries (Nature Medicine 1998;4:601-6). When they applied a solution of the antibody to subjects' teeth—which had previously been sterilised—they found …

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