V Rishi Kumar
A team at BITS Pilani, led by Professor Suman Kapur, has developed a phyto-constituent, molecular medicine-based formulation that can be used as a mouthwash by Covid-19 patients and their care-givers, to prevent the spread of the infection.
Three lots of the natural product-based mouthwash have been prepared and tested for use in humans based on in-vitro cytotoxicity and inhibition of viral infectivity specific assays.
The team is now initiating clinical validation case control studies to measure the viral load in subjects post use of the mouthwash, and will soon embark on commercial production with strategic partner companies.
According to Kapur, the mouthwash has been tested by a third-party internationally accredited lab and found to completely inhibit the infectivity of virus particles into cultured cells. Also, the formulation was completely non-toxic to cultured cells over a period of up to 72 hours.
Typically, mouthwashes are prescribed for use three or four times a day with an almost one-minute hold time, finishing with a short gargle up to the throat.
On March 30, Kapur had expressed the idea of an antiviral mouth sanitiser to combat Covid-19.
While the world is racing to develop a vaccine and therapeutic approaches, epidemiologists have started expressing the opinion that we may have to live with the pandemic for two years or more. In this backdrop, a simple-to-use, natural product-based and safe mouth sanitiser may offer substantial protection against infection, she added.
Kapur said: “The BITS Pilani team invites intended collaborators to take forward the clinical evaluation in Covid-19 positive patients under quarantine with mild symptoms, or those who are asymptomatic.”