Beyond the heavy hitters like COVID-19, bird flu, and Ebola, more common viral infections — such as the annual flu — cost the U.S. an estimated $11.2 billion each year in lost productivity alone, leaving a huge burden on our health system and the economy.
Another widespread virus that transmits through oral contact is herpes simplex virus-1 (HSV-1), which infects over two-thirds of the global population and can, in rare cases, lead to encephalitis or infectious blindness.
Vaccines remain a cornerstone of prevention, but low vaccination rates, waning immunity in older adults, or the absence of available vaccines — as is the case with HSV — highlight the need for new strategies to reduce disease spread.
Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Dental Medicine, in collaboration with a Finnish team, have explored an unusual but promising solution: chewing gum infused with antiviral compounds. Their study published in Molecular Therapy shows that this gum can significantly reduce the viral load in the mouth using compounds naturally found in beans.
Chewing Gum vs. COVID-19
Instead of focusing solely on preventing infection, the researchers looked at targeting viral transmission by lowering the number of viruses present in the mouth. While vaccines are excellent at preventing severe illness, they don’t always reduce the chances of spreading the virus — and they come with challenges like distribution, cost, storage, and the need for injection.
That’s where chewing gum comes in. It’s easy, non-invasive, and directly targets the area where many viruses first replicate and spread. In one of their earlier studies, the Penn team added an antiviral protein called CTB-ACE2 to gum, which neutralized over 95 percent of SARS-CoV-2 particles in the saliva of COVID-19 patients, including major variants like beta, delta, and omicron. These encouraging results have already moved into clinical trials.
Read More: Viruses: What They Are, How They Spread, and How We Fight Them
Expanding the Gum to Tackle Flu and Herpes
Building on this success, Henry Daniell, a professor at Penn School of Dental Medicine, and his team incorporated a different antiviral protein — Flt3 Receptor Interacting Lectin (FRIL), derived from lablab beans — into gum and tested its effectiveness on multiple strains of influenza and HSV.
Using a mastication simulator (a mechanical chewing device), they showed that over half of the active compound was released within 15 minutes. Just 40 milligrams of FRIL was enough to reduce more than 95 percent of the viral load present.
The gum already meets FDA safety standards and is easy to store, making it a convenient product that could hit the market relatively soon.
Fighting the Spread of Bird Flu
According to a recent press release, FRIL also appears effective against two strains of bird flu. While chewing gum might not be an option for birds, the researchers are now testing lablab bean powder as an additive in bird feed.
“Controlling transmission of viruses continues to be a major global challenge,” said Daniell in the release. “A broad-spectrum antiviral protein (FRIL), present in a natural food product (bean powder), that neutralizes not only human flu viruses but also avian flu is a timely innovation to prevent their infection and transmission.”
Read More: Bird Flu's Spread Among Dairy Cows Appears to Be Picking Up Its Pace
Article Sources
Our writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:
Molecular Therapy: Debulking influenza and herpes simplex virus strains by a wide-spectrum anti-viral protein formulated in clinical grade chewing gum
National Foundation for Infectious Diseases: Flu (Influenza)
Penn Today: A chewing gum that could reduce SARS-CoV-2 transmission
Having worked as a biomedical research assistant in labs across three countries, Jenny excels at translating complex scientific concepts – ranging from medical breakthroughs and pharmacological discoveries to the latest in nutrition – into engaging, accessible content. Her interests extend to topics such as human evolution, psychology, and quirky animal stories. When she’s not immersed in a popular science book, you’ll find her catching waves or cruising around Vancouver Island on her longboard.
