%0 Journal Article %A Isabel Pagani %A Silvia Ghezzi %A Massimo Clementi %A Guido Poli %A Mario Bussi %A Luca Pianta %A Matteo Trimarchi %A Elisa Vicenzi %T Vinegar and Its Active Component Acetic Acid Inhibit SARS-CoV-2 Infection In Vitro and Ex Vivo %D 2020 %R 10.1101/2020.07.08.193193 %J bioRxiv %P 2020.07.08.193193 %X Effective and economical measures are needed to either prevent or inhibit the replication of SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19, in the upper respiratory tract. As fumigation of vinegar at low concentration (0.34%) ameliorated the symptoms of mild SARS-CoV-2 infection, we tested in vitro the potential antiviral activity of vinegar and of its active component, acetic acid. We here demonstrate that both vinegar and acetic acid indeed strongly inactivate SARS-CoV-2 infectivity in Vero cells. Furthermore, vinegar treatment caused a 90% inhibition of the infectious titer when directly applied to a nasopharyngeal swab transfer medium of a COVID-19 patient. These effects were potentiated if conduced at a temperature of 45 °C vs. 37 °C, a condition that is transiently generated in the upper respiratory tract during fumigation. Our findings are consistent and extend the results of studies performed in the early and mid-20th century on the disinfectant capacity of organic acids and can provide an affordable home-made aid to prevent or contain SARS-CoV-2 infection of the upper respiratory tract.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest. %U https://www.biorxiv.org/content/biorxiv/early/2020/07/20/2020.07.08.193193.full.pdf