A pregnant woman suspected of contracting Ebola is lifted by stretcher into an ambulance in Freetown, Sierra Leone September 19, 2014 in a handout photo provided by UNICEF. Sierra Leone's army has "sealed off" the borders with Liberia and G
A pregnant woman suspected of contracting Ebola is lifted by stretcher into an ambulance in Freetown, Sierra Leone September 19, 2014 in a handout photo provided by UNICEF. Sierra Leone's army has "sealed off" the borders with Liberia and Guinea in a bid to halt the spread of Ebola, the army spokesman said on September 23, 2014. The spokesman told Reuters that troops had been sent to all border crossing points. REUTERS

A new study has found that a molecule in the honeysuckle plant has the world's first "virological penicillin." The researchers said that for generations,the medicine was used to treat influenza infections in traditional Chinese medicine.

According to Science Alert, the study was published in the journal Cell Research by the scientists from the Nanjing University in China. They studied the plant and a plant microRNA, a small molecule that played an important role in affecting the pathways responsible for many diseases, was identified. The molecule is called MIR2911.

In the clinical trials that the researchers conducted, MIR2911 was successful in suppressing swine flu, bird flu and other influenza A viruses. The clinical trials made use of two types of honeysuckles, synthetic as well as natural occurring. It was found that both were effective in curing deadly influenza A viruses.

First, the honeysuckle was boiled and was then used to treat the lung tissue that was infected with H1NI virus in mice. It was found that the microRNA attached itself to the messenger RNA. A messenger RNA is a molecule that contains genetic information. The attachment of the microRNA to the messenger RNA resulted in the blocking of the process of viral replication, leading to the virus being destroyed.

The study also found that the "virological penicillin" could subdue the replication of H5N1 and Avail influenza viruses as well. Suggestions have been made that the molecule could be a potential for the deadly Ebola virus. Researchers have to make use of human subjects to check the results in them as well. The researchers hoped that it could help treat viruses for which there was no natural cure and that it would become the first natural, therapeutic and preventive agent against various types of viruses.

According to the journal Nature, Influenza A virus posed a threat to public health. Three influenza pandemics caused a lot of deaths in the past, one of them being the 1918 Spanish flu which caused more than 50 million deaths. The report in the journal said that the H591 and H7N9 had potential to blow into a pandemic.