Penn Dental School of Medicine has conducted experiments with patient saliva and gum that contains the ACE2 protein and has learned that the protein neutralizes the virus.
“SARS-CoV-2 replicates in the salivary glands, and we know that when someone who is infected sneezes, coughs, or speaks some of that virus can be expelled and reach others,” says Daniell. “This gum offers an opportunity to neutralize the virus in the saliva, giving us a simple way to possibly cut down on a source of disease transmission.”