We've all heard that sushi is good for your health, but recent test suggest that the accompanying soy sauce might have much greater benefits.

25 years ago, Yamasa Corporation began research on how to make their soy sauce tastier. In 2001, they made a surprising discovery - that a flavour-enhancing molecule named EFdA bore a strong similarity to a drug used to combat HIV.

In fact, further research has shown that EFdA might be even more effective than tenofovir, which is a first line defence in treating HIV. The body quickly builds up an immunity to tenofovir, but this process takes longer with EFdA.

University of Pittsburgh biochemist Michael Parniak spoke to Decoding Science about test conducted on monkeys suffering from HIV: 

“These animals were so lethargic, so ill, that they were scheduled to be euthanized when EFdA was administered. Within a month they were bouncing around in their cages, looking very happy and their virus load dropped to undetectable levels. That shows you the activity of the molecule; it’s so active that resistance doesn’t come in as much of a factor with it.”

He aims to continue investigating the effects of the compound, with the hope of using it in a new treatment drug:

“We want to understand how long EFdA stays in the bloodstream and cells. If we understand structurally why this drug is so potent it allows us to maybe develop additional molecules equally potent and a combination of those molecules could be a blockbuster.”