FOOD AS VACCINE

CHILKUR BALAJI COLLEGE OF PHARMACY

PRESENTED BY KONATHAM TEJA KUMAR REDDY13GD1ROO23

INTRODUCTION

In the last decade, advancements in the field of medicine and healthcare have been possible because of the development of newer, safer and highly effective vaccines; recombinant vaccines, subunit vaccines, peptide vaccines and DNA vaccines to name a few. Although these vaccines have an undue advantage over traditional conventional vaccines, there is a flip side to them.

DEFINITION Edible vaccines are nothing but transgenic plant and animal

based production of or those that contain agents that trigger an animal’s immune response. In simple terms, edible vaccines are plant or animal made pharmaceuticals. This essay highlights the importance of edible vaccines produced in plants

INITIAL DEVELOPMENTS IN DESIGNING THE EDIBLE VACCINES:

The concept of edible vaccines was developed by Arntzen in the 1990s. He currently heads the department of plant biology at the Arizona State University. He fell upon the idea after he attended a conference in New York, organized by the WHO.

EXAMPLES OF SOME EDIBLE VACCINES: Transgenic Potatoes For Diarrhea The first human trial for an edible vaccine took place in 1997.

Volunteers ate transgenic potatoes that contained the b-subunit of the E. coli heat-labile toxin, which causes diarrhea. Ten of the 11 volunteers showed a 4-fold increase in serum antibodies

Transgenic Tomatoes Against Diarrhea: In the US at the Cornell University, researchers have

developed transgenic tomatoes against the Norwalk virus, which causes severe diarrhea. The tomatoes produced a surface protein specific to the virus. Mice that ate these tomatoes developed an immune response to the virus.[7] Recently, banana has been explored as an alternative source because not only does it eliminate the need for cooking but also it’s a locally grown plant.

ADVANTAGES OF EDIBLE VACCINES

1. They are cheap; therefore they can be mass-produced.

2. They can be ingested by eating the plant/part of the plant. So, the need to process and purify does not arise.

3. Extensive storage facilities like cold storage are not required.

DISADVANTAGES OF EDIBLE VACCINES

1. Plants are living organisms that change, so the continuity of the vaccine production might not be guaranteed.

2. Glycosylation patterns in plants differ from those in humans and could affect the functionality of the vaccines.

3. People may develop an allergy to the fruit or vegetable expressing the foreign antigen

Applications of Edible Vaccines:

(a) Malaria: Malaria remains one of the most significant causes of human

morbidity and mortality worldwide, with 300 to 500 mil lion new cases of infection annually result ing in 1.5 to 2.7 million deaths. Three an tigens are currently being investigated for the development of a plant-based malaria vaccine, merozoite surface protein (MSP) 4 and MSP 5 from Plasmodium falcipa rum, and MSP 4/5 from P. yoelli.

(b) Hepatitis B: The hepatitis B virus is esti mated to have infected 400 million

people throughout the globe, making it one of the most common human pathogens. The hepatitis B surface antigen (HBS Ag) is used as a vaccine against Hepatitis B.

Limitations of Edible Vaccines:

Development of immuno tolerance to vac cine peptide or protein.

Consistency of dosage form fruit to fruit, plant to plant, and generation-to-genera tion is not similar.

Stability of vaccine in fruit is not known.

Evaluating dosage requirement is tedious.

Selection of best plant is difficult.

Vaccines must be stored properly from the time they are manufactured until they are administered. Assuring vaccine quality and maintaining the cold chain is a shared responsi bility among manufacturers, distributors, public health staff, and health-care providers. A proper cold chain is a tempera ture-controlled supply chain that includes all equipment and procedures used in the transport and storage and handling of vaccines from the time of manufacture to administration of the vaccine.

Vaccine Storage and Handling Plans Develop and maintain written ROUTINE plan for:

ordering and accepting vaccine deliveries storing and handling vaccines managing inventory managing potentially compromised vaccines

Receiving and Unpacking Vaccine Deliveries Proper vaccine storage and handling is important from the

moment the vaccine arrives at the facility. All office staff should be trained to notify the vaccine coordinator or the alternate (back-up) coordinator when a vaccine delivery has arrived.

Vaccine Deliveries  Notify vaccine coordinator or alternate (back-up)

coordinator when delivery arrives Examine vaccine deliveries container

contents shipping temperature monitors/indicators

Vaccine Preparation

Most vaccines are supplied in single-dose vials or manufac turer-filled syringes. These preparations do not contain a bacteriostatic (preservative) agent. Once a single-dose vial is opened, meaning that the protective cap has been removed, it should be discarded at the end of the workday if not used.

community influenza clinics. These syringes are designed for both storage and administration.Once the protective cap is removed, vaccine in single-dose vial

should be used or discarded at end of work day Do not predraw vaccine increases risk for administration errors

wasted vaccinepossible bacterial growth in vaccines that do not contain a

preservativeadministration syringes not designed for storage

CONCLUSION

The first trial on humans in 1997 (using the heat labile B- toxin from E. coli) is a milestone on the road to creating inexpensive vaccines that might be particularly useful in immunizing people in developing countries, where high cost and logistical issues, such as transportation and the need for certain vaccines to be refrigerated, can thwart effective vaccination programs.

REFERANCE

Ball JM, Hardy MK, Conner ME, Opekun AA, Graham DY (1996) Recombinant Norwalk virus-like particles as an oral vaccine.

Brandtzaeg P (1995) Basic mechanisms of mucosal immunity — a major adaptive defense system. Immunologist 3: 89 – 96.

Chen Y, Inobe J, Marks R, Gonnella P, Kuchroo VK, Weiner- HL (1995) Peripheral deletion of antigen-reactive T cells in oral tolerance. Nature 376: