Lemons have provided new hope in research to cure AIDS but recent trials in Africa have scientists looking elsewhere for a treatment.

The fruit has been long thought of as a natural contraceptive and gave pause to the scientific community when Australian research suggested that lemon juice may be effective in killing HIV. Continued research to the possible healing benefits of lemon juice inspired Roger Short, the scientist who first discovered how lemon juice affects HIV, to take his investigations to Nigeria.

He teamed his efforts with local clinicians in Nigeria and in the U.S. to test the possibility that the juice could be used to prevent the spread of HIV. To test the theory, the team studied nearly 400 sex workers in Nigeria. The scientists tracked the health of the women and found no significant difference in women who used lemon and lime juice to prevent infections and those who did not.

Roughly one-fifth of the women studied used lemon and lime juice as douches in the hopes that infections may be stopped. Tests for a variety of diseases including HIV, syphilis and hepatitis ultimately disproved the theory.