How these Saudi undergraduates made a breakthrough in the fight against a deadly virus

Foot and mouth disease is an infectious and sometimes fatal illness that causes a high fever and blisters inside the mouth and on the feet. The virus also affects cattle, pigs and sheep and can cause huge economic losses for livestock owners and breeders, if their cattle gets infected. 

Currently, treatments are used to reduce the symptoms of the virus rather than stop and control it.  

The students’ isolation and extraction of this new compound from the Peganum harmala is a ground-breaking discovery that will have a huge impact in stopping the spread of the disease. 

“The availability of antiviral drug against this particular virus will have great economic impact and reduce the economic loss that occurs when this disease spreads,” said Professor Youssef. 

The two students started their research in 2019, under the supervision of Professor Youssef (pictured above). 

“The students had a special interest in traditional medicine in the Kingdom and had a desire to explore this medicine’s efficiency and verify it in a scientific way,” said Professor Youssef. 

PSAU located in the city of Al-Kharj, Saudi Arabia is widely recognised as a leader in scientific research in the Middle East. Research is woven into every degree programme, and students are required to complete a research-based project before graduating.  

This project familiarises students with basic research methods, and students will graduate from PSAU with a variety of transferrable skills, including the ability to think, design and preform successful research in their particular field.  

“Scientific research is a cornerstone in developing solutions to the community’s problems,” said Professor Youssef. 

Fahad and Abdullah conducted their research into the Peganum harmala compound using PSAU’s facilities. They started by collecting the plant, removing different extracts to examine and sending these to the virology laboratory at the Armed Forces Hospital for Veterinary Medicine. 

The students faced a number of difficulties throughout the process, such as finding a laboratory to conduct experiments on the virus, the complexity of the procedures and the time-consuming research and testing.  

However, PSAU helped the students in their research process, providing funding and support for the students throughout.  

The students have said they hope to communicate with pharmaceutical companies to deliver the compound as a medicine that can help those suffering with foot and mouth disease.