The saliva of probands sucking an iota-carrageenan containing lozenge inhibits viral binding and replication of the most predominant common cold viruses and SARS-CoV-2

Morokutti-Kurz M, Unger-Manhart N, Graf P, Rauch P, Kodnar J, Große M, Setz C, Savli M, Ehrenreich F, Grassauer A, Prieschl-Grassauer E, Schubert U (2021)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2021

Journal

International Journal of General Medicine Dove Medical Press

Book Volume: 14

Pages Range: 5241-5249

DOI: 10.2147/IJGM.S325861

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate whether sucking of an iota-carrageenan containing lozenge releases sufficient iota-carrageenan into the saliva of healthy subjects to neutralize representatives of the most common respiratory virus families causing common cold and SARS-CoV-2. Patients and Methods: In this monocentric, open label, prospective clinical trial, 31 healthy subjects were included to suck a commercially available iota-carrageenan containing lozenge. Saliva samples from 27 subjects were used for ex vivo efficacy analysis. The study’s primary objective was to assess if the mean iota-carrageenan concentration of the saliva samples exceeded 5 µg/mL, which is the concentration known to reduce replication of human rhinovirus (hRV) 1a and 8 by 90%. The iota-carrageenan concentration of the saliva samples was analyzed by UV-Vis spectroscopy. The antiviral effectiveness of the individual saliva samples was determined in vitro against a panel of respiratory viruses including hRV1a, hRV8, human coronavirus OC43, influenza virus A H1N1pdm09, coxsackievirus A10, parainfluenza virus 3 and SARS-CoV-2 using standard virological assays. Results: The mean iota-carrageenan concentration detected in the saliva exceeds the concentration needed to inhibit 90% of hRV1a and hRV8 replication by 134-fold (95% CI 116.3–160.8-fold; p < 0.001). Thus, the study met the primary endpoint. Furthermore, the iota-carrageenan saliva concentration was 60 to 30,351-fold higher than needed to reduce viral replication/binding of all tested viruses by at least 90% (p < 0.001). The effect was most pronounced in hCoV OC43; in case of SARS-CoV-2, the IC90 was exceeded by 121-fold (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Sucking an iota-carrageenan containing lozenge releases sufficient iota-carra-geenan to neutralize and inactivate the most abundant respiratory viruses as well as pandemic SARS-CoV-2. The lozenges are therefore an appropriate measure to reduce the viral load at the site of infection, hereby presumably limiting transmission within a population as well as translocation to the lower respiratory tract. Trial Registration: NCT04533906.

Authors with CRIS profile

Maximilian Große Institute of Clinical and Molecular Virology Christian Setz Institute of Clinical and Molecular Virology Ulrich Schubert Professur für Virologie

Involved external institutions

Marinomed Biotech AG AT Austria (AT) Biostatistik & Consulting Dr. Markus Savli CH Switzerland (CH)

How to cite

APA:

Morokutti-Kurz, M., Unger-Manhart, N., Graf, P., Rauch, P., Kodnar, J., Große, M.,... Schubert, U. (2021). The saliva of probands sucking an iota-carrageenan containing lozenge inhibits viral binding and replication of the most predominant common cold viruses and SARS-CoV-2. International Journal of General Medicine, 14, 5241-5249. https://dx.doi.org/10.2147/IJGM.S325861

MLA:

Morokutti-Kurz, Martina, et al. "The saliva of probands sucking an iota-carrageenan containing lozenge inhibits viral binding and replication of the most predominant common cold viruses and SARS-CoV-2." International Journal of General Medicine 14 (2021): 5241-5249.

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