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Dandelion Tea Blocks SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein and its Variants, German University Study Finds
Will the U.S. government now try to outlaw this ubiquitous weed?
By: David Deschesne
Fort Fairfield Journal, August 11, 2021
A study posted on March 19, 2021 from researchers at the Universities of Freiburg and Munich in Germany have found that a simple tea made from dried leaves of the common dandelion weed was nearly 80 percent effective at blocking the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein from binding with human cells’ ACE2 receptors in laboratory tests.1 Tincture made from dried pomegranate peels also showed promise in the study.
The research was conducted at the University of Freiburg’s Molecular Preventative Medicine University Medical and Faculty of Medicine and the University of Munich’s Institute of Food Chemistry and Molecular Sensory Science. It has received no attention from the left wing television network and print news media, who are still busy promoting experimental “vaccines” that are making billions of dollars in profits to the pharmaceutical companies.
The researchers reported on the common dandelion’s ability to block protein-protein interaction of spike S1 to the human ACE2 cell surface receptor. This ability to block the SARS-CoV-2 spike was shown to be effective in not only the original Wuhan strain, but all of its known mutated variants as well.
They studied the tea using infected human lung and kidney cells in the laboratory and found the tea to be efficient at preventing spike binding in the lab studies they conducted.
The tea they used was composed of dried dandelion leaves (500 mg) steeped in distilled water (5 ml) at room temperature for 60 minutes. “Our research was conducted using water-based extracts from plant leaves,” the researchers wrote. “We found that leaf extracts efficiently blocked spike protein or its mutant forms to the ACE2 receptor, used in either pre- or post-incubation, and that high molecular weight compounds account for this effect.”
They also found that the tea’s ability to block the spike protein was not affected when mixed with human saliva, such as would occur when drinking it. “Extracts, incubated in human saliva for 30 min at 37° C before cell treatment had comparable effects on spike D614G inhibition indicating a good stability of the bioactive compounds in saliva.”
They also tested for effects on the human cells when exposed to the tea and found no loss in cell viability after extract exposure and no enzyme activity impairment could be detected after 1 or 24 hours.
They showed that pre-incubation of the cells with dandelion tea efficiently blocked cell binding of spike proteins by 76.67% ±2.9. After three hours inhibition was still at 50% ±13.6. Chicory, a close cousin of dandelion, was tested and found to be much less potent than dandelion with binding inhibition at just 37% after 1 minute ±20.
A tincture of pomegranate peel made with hydroalcohol showed a 74% effectiveness for its main constituents. Using SARS-CoV-2 spike pseudotyped lentivirus infection of human kidney-2 cells, virus entry was then efficiently blocked by the peel extract.
Dandelion tea has been used by herbalists for centuries to treat disorders of the liver, gallbladder, digestive tract and rheumatic diseases. Modern research considers the plant as safe.
They noted that there are no cases of overdose using dandelion tea but there can be some adverse reactions in those people who are hypersensitive, or allergic, to the Asteraceae plant family, or their active compounds; liver and biliary diseases; or an active peptic ulcer.
The dandelion is a significant source of potassium and thus a warning is given because of the possible risk of hyperkalaemia if it is used in excessive amounts. The use of dandelion tea in children under 12 years of age and women who are pregnant or lactating has not been established due to lack of adequate or sufficient data.
Commercial virucidal mouth rinses, such as those containing povidone-iodine have been suggested by the medical community to potentially reduce the virus load in infected persons, but significant clinical studies do not exist to date to support this idea. However, the researchers suggest, “Blocking SARS-CoV-2 virus binding to cells in the oral cavity with [dandelion] extracts might be tolerable for a consumer, if necessary only for limited periods of time (e.g. product application after contact with infected persons or when being infected.)” They found that only short contact times with the dandelion tea was necessary for efficient blocking of SARS-CoV-2 spike binding or for removing already bound spike from the cell surface.
While the ubiquitous dandelion weeds are literally free, and grow everywhere, the experimental vaccines being touted as a veritable “cure” for COVID-19 in the left wing news media are reaping billions of dollars in profits to the vaccine companies who are legally shielded from any liability for damages or deaths caused by their products. The researchers noted that doubts about the vaccines’ long term safety and effectiveness could make dandelion tea a cheaper, safer alternative in the treatment of COVID-19. “Although the first vaccines received now marketing authorization, challenges in distribution concerns or about durable effectiveness, and risk of re-infection remain...Besides vaccination against COVID-19, blocking the accessibility of the virus to membrane-bound ACE2 as the primary receptor for SARS-CoV-2 target cell entry, represents an alternative strategy to prevent COVID-19.”
“SARS-CoV-2 is steadily mutating during continuous transmission among humans. Virus antigenic drift is clearly shown...it is evolving in such a way that it may eventually be able to evade our existing therapeutic and prophylactic approaches aimed at the viral spike. Thus, factors such as low toxicity in humans and effective binding inhibition of five relevant spike mutations to the human ACE2 receptor, as reported here in vitro, encourage for more in-depth analysis of [dandelion tea] effectiveness in SARS-CoV-2 prevention and now requires further confirmatory evidence.
The study, which is a pre-print awaiting peer-review, suggests further research and clinical trials. This may be difficult to obtain, however, because there could be no possible profit motive for the pharmaceutical-industrial complex to conduct those studies since dandelion is a weed that grows just about everywhere and is free for the picking.
notes:
1. https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.03.19.435959v1.article-info