We’ve had to deal with COVID-19 as a terrifying virus that has the potential to kill people for the past two years…
But with the global rollout of the vaccines and booster doses, we’ve managed to return to a sense of normalcy, almost forgetting about the virus. And with the advancing COVID-19 research, scientists have been able to devise other methods to mitigate the spread of the virus.
Photo via Firstpost
Recently, new research involving chewing gum can supposedly reduce the Omicron variant of COVID-19 in your saliva, and here’s how it works…
According to Mashable SEA, after being exposed to COVID-19, the virus enters our cells through proteins called ACE2, which lay on the surface of the cells. In order to cause infection, the SARS-CoV-2 needs to use these ACE2 proteins in order to ‘enter’ our cells.
The experimental chewing gum also contains copies of ACE2.
In experiments conducted with the chewing gum and saliva samples from people infected with the Delta and Omicron variants of COVID-19, the virus attached itself to these ACE2 receptors. The viral load then ended up falling to undetectable levels.
So it’s basically a COVID trap… in our mouth!
By: Aishah Akashah Ahadiat
