Phytovaccines

Phytovaccines

© Sabari Ganesh; “All Rights Reserved” 
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            Infection and disease is a persistent threat to the existence of human race in this planet. The natural protective mechanism of the human body is its immune system. The ability and success of which, ensures our healthy living. Disease is a condition that indicates the temporary failure of the immune system. Ability of man to cure diseases ensured survival. The quest to healthy living has shifted focus from cure to prevention. Vaccination is a formidable tool in this frontier.

            When the immune system is stimulated by exposing the human body to pathogens after inactivating them; disease can be prevented during actual encounter. The prime objective of vaccination is to minimise the response time and enhance the efficacy of the human immune system. Vaccination is an economical and efficient tool to prime the immune system in an effort to prevent and eradicate infectious diseases. The success of vaccination has incarcerated Small Pox as historic; so shall be with Polio soon.

            A remarkable mile stone in this process is the replacement of the entire inactivated pathogen by select antigens that trigger the same response from the immune system. Thereby, considerable risk of exposing the human body to the complete pathogen is averted. Vaccinating a person is normally done by way of injecting the antigen. The clinical necessities are sterile syringes, refrigeration prior to injection, multiple injections at regular intervals that boost the immune system which is a prerequisite to ensure effectiveness.

            Childhood is the stage when a body receives most of its vaccinations. The clinical necessities, stringent protocols during administration, technical expertise to administer vaccines, huge cost of production and transportation have become factors of inhibition to vaccination. The people of least developed countries where sophistication of life and use of technology is still in its nascent stage, lack of education and proper information on the benefits of vaccination hinder the objective of eradicating infectious diseases.

            Developmental research have been able to express the same antigen protein used as vaccines in edible parts of plants; which when consumed by people, provide the benefits of vaccination. This commenced the research and development of edible vaccines. Since they are produced by plants, they are also called Phytovaccines. The first ever plant derived protein to be used as a vaccine is the Human Serum Albumin. This antigen protein molecule was successfully produced in tobacco and potato plants.

            Phytovaccines is another marvel of genetic engineering. When a part of the plant is exposed to the bacterial medium that contains the antigen gene and the antibiotic resistance gene; modifications occur in its genetic stature. This when kept in an antibiotic medium, the rest of the plant not affected by the antibiotic resistance gene gets destroyed allowing the proliferation of the antigen gene in the plant; called Callus. When this chunk of cells called Callus is allowed to develop into a plant; the edible parts of the plant would be laden with the antigen protein.

            These edible parts of the plant containing the antigen protein, when consumed trigger the human immune system to produce the corresponding antibodies; thus vaccinating the human body. The immune system of the human body as a result would have gained the capability to fight and win over during actual encounter with live disease causing pathogens. So long the leaf and stem tissues of the tobacco and potato plants are used to produce the antigen protein molecules used as vaccines.

            When plants are integrated with the genes that determine the antigens of the disease causing bacteria or virus; the cells of the edible part of the plant provide immunogenic proteins. This upon consumption provide the benefit and protection of vaccination. The process of expressing the antigen protein molecule in edible parts of plants to be used as vaccines is called Transient Gene Expression. The vaccines thus can be manufactured at a comparatively lower cost, with negligible risk of contamination and also in abundance. They can be administered by oral consumption of the edible part of the plant or could be extracted, purified and administered as injections or oral dosage pills.

            Some of the foods under study to manufacture edible vaccines are potato, tobacco, banana, tomato, carrot, peanuts, lettuce, wheat, rice and corn. Of these tomatoes and bananas are preferred carrier of vaccines as they can be grown in any part of the world with considerable ease; can also be consumed in its raw form; and liked by children too. The need to cook potatoes and rice to make it fit for consumption pose the risk of the antigen protein with vaccinating properties getting denatured. Also, opinions galore to avoid agricultural food crops that form the principal food chain of humans to be a vector of vaccines as differentiating the ordinary and transgenic might become difficult and tedious. Another bottleneck to be addressed in edible vaccines is the determination of dosage accuracy and consistency when consuming the transgenic food in an effort to self-vaccinate.

            It is yet to be ascertained if the cell wall that encloses the cytoplasm with the antigen protein in the food consumed, could surpass the strong acids in the stomach and reach the intestine to be absorbed into the blood stream. However, as most of the infectious diseases that demand vaccination enter the body through the alimentary canal and mucosal surfaces of the nose and mouth, like the Vibrio Cholerae and Entero Toxigenic Escherichia coli infections; edible vaccines that mimic the same route might be expected to possess a relatively higher efficacy in stimulating the mucosal immune response.

            The use of transgenic plants is a success in developing auto-antigens that inhibit, cure and eradicate diseases wherein the human immune system misidentifies the body's home proteins as foreign only to fight against it. Some of the diseases thus expressed by the human body include Multiple Sclerosis, Arthritis and Type I Diabetes. Focus is also intense on developing edible vaccines for preventing and eliminating tumour cells that include breast cancer and malignant melanoma. However, development of edible vaccines to prevent and fight cancer is in its infancy.

            Research on edible vaccines also focus on an interesting possibility of the pregnant mother consuming the vaccine laden food and pass on the antibodies generated thus through the placenta, thereby vaccinate her yet to be born child; and/or could breast feed the child and vaccinate it by passing the antibodies through milk. Man's quest for healthy living has been a never-ending pursuit. Phytovaccines is another episode that would scientifically establish food as medicine. However research in this field is in its infancy and a long way remains to be trodden.

            An important aspect to be reckoned in the manufacture of Phytovaccines is to maintain easy and clear distinction between ordinary food crops and genetically modified transgenic food crops that are laden with antigen proteins. Legal protocols and compliance parameters are yet to be framed in the production of Phytovaccines on a commercial scale. An ideal scenario at this nascent stage of Phytovaccine production is in its confinement to green houses and horticulture parks; where observation, analysis and total eradication upon misadventure is possible.

            Genetic engineering is one of the most awesome forces of this century and one should not be allowed to wield it like a kid who found its dad's pistol. Prudence in application under close analysis, observation, documentation, repeated protocol testing ensuring effectiveness, eliminating redundant after-effects of residues, and DNA sequencing of the plasmids would open up new frontiers to a healthy life propelled by Phytovaccines.