Research on 2FX
Ongoing research
Research is fundamental to our success. The research collaboration between BioClin and the Free University medical center of Amsterdam revealed the anti-adhesive mode of action of the large, negatively-charged polysaccharides derived from the leaf gel of Aloe Barbadensis Miller. This resulted in a shared, global patent for 2FX-complex and the development of BioClin’s first product, Multi-Gyn ActiGel. The following studies demonstrate the anti-adhesive properties of 2FX-complex and show how effective this mode of action is at blocking the progress of pathogenic microbes.
Our research program for 2FX-complex continues today at the University of Applied Sciences in Utrecht, The Netherlands. We are currently developing randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trials to demonstrate the efficacy of our products and add to our evidence base. We also work with our international partners to assess the efficacy of our products with healthcare professionals and patients around the world.
Scientific evidence
These are images of stomach epithelial cells
White dots are fluorescently labeled H. pylori incubated with human stomach biopsies.
Helicobacter Pylori is a bacteria that can be present in the human stomach and duodenum. It can cause inflammations that could result in stomach and duodenum uclers. These microscopic images, that were part of a human study, show that in the presence of 2FX-complex the Helicobactor pylori hardly attaches to the stomach lining anymore. This picture proves the anti-adhesion benefits that 2FX-complex offers. The 2FX-complex prevents the Helicobacter pylori bacteria from attaching to the stomach tissues, therefore preventing this bacteria from doing any harm.
Advantages of 2FX-complex: scientific evidence
Anti-adhesion activity of 2FX-complex on various natural substrates
Glass microscope slides showing the microbial adhesion of C. albicans and S. aureus on gelatin, poly-L-lysine and epithelial cells were tested with 2FX-complex. Gelatin, poly-L-lysine and epithelial cells are biological protein substrates which microbes can adhere to. Control slides with the same natural substrates and bacteria were incubated without 2FX-complex.
Results
The slides demonstrate the anti-adhesive action of 2FX-complex:
80-90% reduction in microbial adhesion to poly-L-lysine and gelatin.
60% reduction in microbial binding to epithelial cells.
2FX-complex does not affect the viability of microbes
Various microbial species were incubated in growth medium in the absence and presence of 2FX-complex. After 1 hour of incubation, the number of surviving cells was determined quantitatively (total plate count). Subsequently, the incubations were allowed to grow overnight, and the amount of microbial growth was determined in a turbidity measurement, ‘optical density’ (OD).
Results
For all microorganisms tested, the numbers of colony-forming units after 1 hour incubation with purified 2FX-complex was similar to control incubations without 2FX-complex. Moreover, after overnight incubation the extent of microbial growth in the presence and absence of 2FX-complex polysaccharides were highly comparable. In conclusion, these results convincingly show 2FX-complex polysaccharides do not affect microbial viability and do not affect microbial growth in vitro.
Microbial aggregation
A variety of options for processing and manipulating the polysaccharides in Aloe were tested and many different polysaccharide samples were analysed. To a mixture of pathogenic microbes the test-material was added with the idea to analyse the influence of this material on the anti-adhesive capacity. the microbes reacted in an unusual and unexpected way that immobilized them within seconds. The test was repeated under an fluorescence microscope. First there is a normal picture of masses of individual microbes that are active, alive and float around in the fluid medium. A single drop of our test-material is added and within seconds the activity can be seen. The individual microbes start sticking together and form lumps. This effect increases rapidly and the bacteria keep on aggregating into large clusters.
A great advantage of this clustering effect over the anti-adhesive effect is that it is already effective even with only a few connections to the adhesins on the pathogens. If only 1 out of 10 adhesins connects then they can already start interconnecting and form clusters. On top of this the clustering effect takes place rapidly, within mere seconds.