An experimental study carried out by the researchers of the Dr Harvansh Singh Judge Institute of Dental Sciences and Hospital of Panjab University and CSIR-Institute of Microbial Technology (IMTECH) has concluded that a component in the most routinely-used mouthwash is effective against the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Chlorhexidine gluconate is widely used in germicidal mouthwash. Besides, the study has also found povidone-iodine to be effective in inactivating the virus.
The chlorhexidine gluconate mouth rinse in 0.2% concentration has been found to be most effective, inactivating more than 99% of the virus.
The research, conducted by professors Ashish Jain and Vishakha Grover of PU’s dental institute in collaboration with Krishan Gopal Thakur of IMTECH and others, has been submitted to a major scientific journal for publishing.
‘Results need to be verified with clinical studies’
Professor Ashish Jain said, “Our work suggests that chlorhexidine 0.2% which amounts to the most widely-used mouthwash can be an effective regiment in the war against Covid-19. However, these are initial results from lab studies and need to be verified via clinical studies; commercial samples available in the market that contain other additives need to be tested against this claim.”
The study has found that 0.2% chlorhexidine gluconate, at merely 30 seconds of contact time, achieves immediate inactivation of the virus. At 0.12% concentration, the component was also found to be effective, but its effectiveness was marginally lesser. Povidone-iodine has been found more than 99.9% effective at 60 seconds contact time.
{{/usCountry}}The study has found that 0.2% chlorhexidine gluconate, at merely 30 seconds of contact time, achieves immediate inactivation of the virus. At 0.12% concentration, the component was also found to be effective, but its effectiveness was marginally lesser. Povidone-iodine has been found more than 99.9% effective at 60 seconds contact time.
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