PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Conzelmann, Carina
AU  - Weil, Tatjana
AU  - Groß, Rüdiger
AU  - Jungke, Peggy
AU  - Frank, Bruno
AU  - Eggers, Maren
AU  - Müller, Janis A.
AU  - Münch, Jan
TI  - Antiviral activity of plant juices and green tea against SARS-CoV-2 and influenza virus <em>in vitro</em>
AID  - 10.1101/2020.10.30.360545
DP  - 2020 Jan 01
TA  - bioRxiv
PG  - 2020.10.30.360545
4099  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2020/11/03/2020.10.30.360545.short
4100  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2020/11/03/2020.10.30.360545.full
AB  - Respiratory viruses initially infect the naso- and oropharyngeal regions, where they amplify, cause symptoms and may also be transmitted to new hosts. Preventing initial infection or reducing viral loads upon infection might soothe symptoms, prevent dissemination into the lower airways, or transmission to the next individual. We here analyzed the potential of plant derived products to inactivate SARS-CoV-2 and influenza virus. We found that black chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa) juice, pomegranate (Punica granatum) juice, and green tea (Camellia sinensis) have virucidal activity against both viruses, suggesting that oral rinsing may reduce viral loads in the oral cavity thereby lowering virus transmission.Competing Interest StatementB.F. is partner of CogniVerde GmbH Gross-Umstadt, Germany. R.G. acted as a consultant of CogniVerde GmbH, Gross-Umstadt, Germany.