Antiviral activity of green tea and fruit juices against SARS-CoV-2, influenza, and other viruses

We here analyzed the virucidal activity of green tea (Camellia sinensis), black chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa), pomegranate (Punica granatum) as well as elderberry (Sambucus nigra) juice, against different respiratory viruses. The results [1] show that they have remarkable virucidal properties. The severe acute respiratory syndrome-causing coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), influenza A virus (IAV) were inhibited in their infectivity up to 99.99% by the above plant extracts. Since viral replication, symptoms and transmission occur in the nasal and oropharyngeal regions, lowering viral titres as early as possible could be a proactive strategy to prevent infection, dissemination, severe disease progression and spread. Long-term use of the tested products in the form of mouthwashes and gargles are largely unproblematic and could be a suitable pre- and post-exposure prophylaxis during the current COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, the ability to swallow food, unlike conventional mouthwashes, is practical in many situations. Following in vivo studies [2] [3] in people infected with SARS-CoV-2 and their rapid virus clearance by gargling, inhaling and sucking, the transferability of the in vitro results shown to the pandemic situation is promising and in-vivo studies should follow.

Publication History

Article published online:
13 December 2021

• References

• 1 Frank, B. et al. 2020. preprint. Microbiology. doi:10.1101/2020.10.30.360545
• 2 Mohamed, N.A. et al. 2020. preprint. Infectious Diseases (except HIV/AIDS). doi:10.1101/2020.09.07.20180448
• 3 https://medclinres.org/pdfs/2020/virucidals-control-the-presence-ofcovid-in-mouth-saliva-mcr-20.pdf