ABSTRACT
Much attention in the field of plant-made pharmaceuticals has so far focused on the generation of vaccines and other therapeutic proteins that can be produced inexpensively and applied for various medical applications. Many of these plant-derived vaccines have been designed to prioritize diseases that enter via the mucous membrane and are major causes of mortality in developing countries. Heat-stable plant-made vaccines that are administered orally, therefore, have the potential to enhance vaccine coverage in children and infants, particularly in resource-poor regions of the world. In particular, plant-based vaccines delivered orally are well suited for combating gastrointestinal diseases; this has been the focus of several phase 1 clinical trails in humans and animals (Thananala et al., 2006).
