Rapid inactivation in vitro of SARS-CoV-2 in saliva by black tea and green tea

Ohgitani, Eriko; Shin-Ya, Masaharu; Ichitani, Masaki; Kobayashi, Makoto; Takihara, Takanobu; Kawamoto, Masaya; Kinugasa, Hitoshi; Mazda, Osam

Saliva plays major roles in human-to-human transmission of the SARS-CoV-2. Recently we reported that black, green and oolong tea significantly inactivated SARS-CoV-2 within 1 min. Theaflavin-3,3-di-gallate (TFDG), theasinensin A (TSA) and (-) epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) were involved in the anti-viral activities. Here we examined how long period is required for the compounds to inactivate the virus. We also assessed whether tea inactivates SARS-CoV-2 diluted in human saliva. Treatment of SARS-CoV-2 with 500 M TFDG or TSA for 10 sec reduced the virus titer to undetectable levels (less than 1/1,000). Black and green tea decreased virus titer to less than 1/100 within 10 sec even in saliva. These findings suggest a possibility that intake of, or gargling with, tea may inactivate SARS-CoV-2 in saliva in infected individuals, which may eventually attenuate spread of COVID-19 within a population, although clinical studies are required to test this hypothesis by determining the intensity and duration of the anti-viral effect of tea in saliva in humans.