Scientists develop chewing gum to reduce spread of COVID transmission

A group of researchers has created a chewing gum loaded with a plant-grown protein that acts as a "trap" for the SARS-CoV-2 virus, potentially reducing its spread. The research was published in the journal Molecular Therapy. The research was led by Henry Daniell of Penn's School of Dental Medicine.

It was carried out in collaboration with scientists from Penn's Perelman School of Medicine and School of Veterinary Medicine, as well as The Wistar Institute and Fraunhofer USA. It could lead to a low-cost tool in the COVID-19 pandemic's arsenal.

How does chewing gum works?

This gum claims to neutralise the virus in saliva, reducing the risk of illness transmission. Vaccinations have helped, but they haven't completely stopped the spread of the disease. Even persons who have been fully vaccinated can contract SARS-CoV-2 and, according to new studies, have a viral load similar to those who have not been vaccinated.

Chewing gum developed by researchers to reduce COVID-19 transmission

Prior to the pandemic, Daniell had been studying the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) protein in the hopes of finding a way to manage hypertension. His team developed this protein, as well as a number of others with therapeutic potential, using a unique plant-based production process. They sprayed plant material with target protein DNA to stimulate plant chloroplasts to pick up the DNA and begin producing proteins. The freeze-dried and crushed plant material could possibly be used to provide the protein. This method has the potential to eliminate one of the most significant impediments to the development of protein medicines: the high cost of manufacturing and purification.

Other study groups have found that ACE2 injections reduce viral load in people with serious diseases. To find out, he reached out to Ronald Collman, a virologist and pulmonary and critical care doctor at Penn Medicine, whose team had been collecting blood, nasal swabs, saliva, and other biospecimens from COVID patients for scientific research since the pandemic's early stages. To test the chewing gum, the researchers grew ACE2 in plants, coupled it with a chemical that allowed the protein to pass through mucosal barriers and increase binding, and then placed the plant material in cinnamon-flavoured gum tablets. It was revealed that when samples from COVID-positive patients' nasopharyngeal swabs were treated with the gum, the ACE2 present may neutralise SARS-CoV-2 viruses.

Further aim with this research 

Others at The Wistar Institute and Penn Vet followed up with tests expressing the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in viruses that were less pathogenic than SARS-CoV-2. According to the researchers, the gum mostly prevented viruses or viral particles from entering cells by blocking the ACE2 receptor on the cells or binding directly to the spike protein. The research team is currently seeking permission to conduct a clinical trial to establish if the approach is safe and effective in SARS-CoV-2 afflicted people. Though the research is still in its early stages, if clinical trials indicate that the gum is safe and effective, it might be given to patients whose infection status is unclear, or even for dental check-ups when masks must be removed, to reduce the danger of the virus spreading to caregivers.

With inputs from ANI. 

(IMAGE: PIXABAY / REPRESENTATIVE IMAGE)