Yes, researchers are developing chewing gum to reduce COVID-19 spread. But, it’s not clear if it’ll work

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, research continues on various methods to treat the virus and reduce transmission.

While health experts say vaccinations remain the most effective protection from severe illness or death, headway is also being made on other treatments, like pills being developed by Pfizer and Merck.

But, what about using chewing gum to help reduce transmission or even prevent the most serious symptoms? Some recently published reports claim it’s possible.

THE QUESTION

Are researchers developing a chewing gum that could help reduce the spread of COVID-19?

THE SOURCES

• Dr. Henry Daniell, University of Pennsylvania
• Journal of Molecular Therapy
• Dr. Grace Roberts, research fellow in virology at the University of Leeds

THE ANSWER

Yes, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania are working to create a chewing gum they say could help reduce the spread of COVID-19. The technology has shown promise in lab studies, but it’s not yet clear if it will be effective in the real world.

WHAT WE FOUND

Dr. Henry Daniell is leading research at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Dental Medicine to develop a chewing gum to reduce COVID-19 transmission.

Daniell says the gum is made with a protein that “traps” the SARS-CoV-2 virus in your saliva before it has a chance to bind with similar proteins on the surface of our cells, which is how the virus infects us.

Once the virus is trapped in the gum, it’s immediately killed and neutralized, Daniell said. 

“It prevents transmission through the aerosol particles from the mouth,” he explained

The same plant-grown proteins have been used in a similar way to develop chewing gum to treat dental plaque, according to Daniell.

COVID virus particles were significantly reduced in samples of saliva from COVID-positive patients mixed with the gum, according to a study published in the Journal of Molecular Therapy.

Lab studies also showed by reducing viral load, the gum significantly hindered the ability of the COVID virus’ spike protein from infecting cells, suggesting the gum can also help prevent more serious symptoms.

“So you can decrease the load and help the patient who is newly infected, but at the same time, their household is protected because they won’t be transmitting it,” Daniell told 10 Tampa Bay.

But whether the technology will be just as effective in the real world remains unknown, says virologist Dr. Grace Roberts.

So far, all experiments have been conducted in a controlled lab with samples, not real people, Roberts said.

"So although the findings indicate the novel gum will reduce transmission of the virus from infected people who chew the gum to others, until that is tested in people in a real-world situation, they can’t be certain it will," Roberts told 10 Tampa Bay.

"An anti-viral gum is certainly novel, but many of the methods used in the study are standard virological techniques."

Daniell says his research team is currently working on getting permission to conduct a clinical trial with people infected with COVID-19.