[afro-nets] Studies disagree on safety of lemon juice against HIV

[Claudio Schuftan <claudio@hcmc.netnam.vn>]

Studies disagree on safety of lemon juice against HIV
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sent to health-vn MDG List by Vern Weitzel <vern.weitzel@undp.org>
http://www.scidev.net/News/index.cfm?fuseaction=readNews&itemid=2780&language=1
 
Studies disagree on safety of lemon juice against HIV
 
Catherine Brahic
12 April 2006, Source: SciDev.Net
 
Potentially contradictory findings on whether lemon and lime 
juice could safely protect women from HIV infection if they ap-
ply it to their vaginas will be presented at an international 
conference later this month.
 
Researchers from the CONRAD programme at the Eastern Virginia 
Medical School, United States are expected to present evidence 
that lemon or lime juice can damage the cells of the vagina.
 
Another US-based team, from the University of Berkeley, will 
suggest however that lime juice is safe if it is used in low 
concentrations.
 
Historical documents show that through the centuries, women have 
used acidic solutions such as vinegar as a contraceptive.
 
But in the past few decades, research has suggested that the 
acidic juice of lemons and limes could also function as a micro-
bicide ­ a product that women apply to their vaginas to protect 
themselves from HIV infection.
 
Studies show that this practice is already common among sex 
workers in Nigeria, and anecdotal evidence suggests it also 
takes place in other African countries.
 
But the safety and efficacy of using lime juice has not yet been 
proven scientifically, and some researchers are concerned that 
women could begin using lemon and lime juice with potentially 
harmful effects.
 
In February, Carol Lackman-Smith of the Southern Research Insti-
tute, United States, presented data at a conference showing that 
50 per cent solutions of the juices damaged the cells that line 
the vagina.
 
The CONRAD team is expected to confirm the finding at this 
month's Microbicides 2006 conference in Cape Town, South Africa.
 
According to the team's preliminary results, most women who ap-
plied pure or 50 per cent dilutions of lime juice to their vagi-
nas later showed signs of damage to the vaginal tissues.
 
Lackerman-Smith says there are grounds to be concerned about the 
safety of using lime or lemon juice.
 
However, Anke Hemmerling of the University of Berkeley will pre-
sent results in Cape Town that suggest that weaker dilutions of 
10-20 per cent cause little, if any, damage to the lining of the 
vagina.
 
Hemmerling says the difference could be because it is difficult 
to assess the extent of vaginal damage.
 
The prospect of using lemon or lime juice as a microbicide is 
also complicated by the fact that sperm reduces the overall 
acidity inside the vagina. Previous research by Robin Shattock 
of Imperial College in the United Kingdom shows that in the 
presence of sperm, anything weaker than a 50 per cent solution 
of juice does not efficiently inactivate HI
 
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