The chewing gum is made to trap the particles of virus present in the saliva. COVID-19 spreads from one person to another through aerosols when they sneeze, cough, talk or even breathe. The gum will automatically reduce the chances for the virus to transmit. The study is the collaborative effort between the researchers of The Wistar Institute and the University of Pennsylvania, Fraunhofer USA.
Henry Daniell is leading the study
Henry Daniell, the headman of the study, says that the gum is a “simple way” that can possibly combat COVID-19. “Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2” (ACE2) is the protein that Daniell had been researching about even before the Corona pandemic. He wanted to study about the ability of the protein to treat hypertension.
How does the chewing gum work?
The study author says, “the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein binds with the ACE2 protein receptors on some human cells, facilitating its multiplication and spread”. The protein can lower the viral load in the oral cavity, so the chewing gum has been developed. Plant-grown ACE2 protein was freeze dried, crushed in the form of a powder, and added to the chewing gum. The chewing gums are cinnamon flavoured. “We are already using masks and other physical barriers to reduce the chance of Covid transmission. This gum could be used as an additional tool in that fight,” said Daniell, according to reporting from HealthEuropa.eu.
What Henry Daniell says about the work and the gum?
“SARS-CoV-2 replicates in the salivary glands, and we know that when someone who is infected sneezes, coughs, or speaks some of that virus can be expelled and reach others,” said Daniell, according to EurekAlert.org. “This gum offers an opportunity to neutralize the virus in the saliva, giving us a simple way to possibly cut down on a source of disease transmission. “This work turned out to be extremely beneficial in terms of the COVID-19 pandemic, as the receptor for ACE2 on human cells is known to bind to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, with injections of ACE2 found to reduce viral load in people with severe infections,” reported HealthEuropa.eu. Saliva samples of COVID-19 patients were also tested by the team of researchers against the ACE2 gum. The test turned out to be successful and the levels of viral RNA saw a downfall drastically. This was such a substantial downfall, that the viral was not even detectable.
