Virucidal activity of a plant-oil-based oral rinse against respiratory viruses

Respiratory viruses have been reported to infect the salivary glands and the throat, which are potential reservoirs for virus replication and transmission. Therefore, strategies to reduce the amount of infective virus particles in the oral mucous membranes could lower the risk of transmission. In this study, the viral inactivation capacity of a plant oil-based oral rinse (Salviathymol) was evaluated in comparison to chlorhexidine (Chlorhexamed FORTE) using a quantitative suspension test according to EN 14476. Salviathymol efficiently inactivated severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and two influenza strains to undetectable levels, highlighting its potential as preventive measure to lower transmission of respiratory viruses.