Xylitol, Xlear for COVID-19

AbstractViral pandemics have taken a significant toll on humanity and the world now is contending with the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic. Readily available economical preventive measures should be immediately explored. Xylitol has been reported to reduce the severity of viral infections as well as the severity of pneumonia, and increase the survivability of animal subjects. Since pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome are potentially fatal complications of COVID-19, the present study tested the in vitro effectiveness of xylitol against SARS-CoV-2. Virus titers and LRV of SARS-CoV-2, were incubated with a single concentration of nasal spray. Toxicity was observed in the top dilution (1/10). Virus was seen below that dilution so it did not affect calculations of virus titer or LRV. After a 25-minute contact time, the nasal spray (11% Pure Xylitol, 0.85%NaCL (Saline), and 0.20% grapefruit seed extract) reduced virus from 4.2 to 1.7 log10 CCID50 per 0.1 mL, a statistically significant reduction (P<0.001) of 2.5 log10 CCID50. STEM Images obtained at the BIoCryo Laboratory revealed virus contained on the cell wall but none intra-cellular, possibly due to D-xylose (xylitol) production of glycoaminoglycans decoy targets. Xylitol and grapefruit seed extract are not exotic nor expensive rare high technology answers to viral epidemics. The potential in saving lives and the economies of the world by using X-GSE combination therapy should inspire large clinical trials, especially in those nations whereas the healthcare system would be dangerously compromised by the adoption of less effective and significantly more financially demanding therapies. Because there are no risk factors in using the X/GSE combination therapy, and the nasal spray is over the counter available without a prescription, and the spray allows for comfortable long term mask-wearing, adoption of this preventive anti-viral therapy should be encouraged.

ABSTARCTThe severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), responsible for the ongoing pandemic coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has triggered worldwide concerted efforts in an attempt to identify effective therapies. In the present study, we have identified two candidate agents with potential activity against SARS-CoV-2 which can be administered intranasally, namely, xylitol and grape seed fruit extract (GSE). A commercially available nasal spray (Xlear) combining xylitol and GSE has been available for years, but the antiviral effects of this solution have not been documented. This in vitro study examined the virucidal effect of Xlear against SARS-CoV-2. To this end, two independent sets of experiments were carried out to test the hypothesis that Xlear is an effective (Experiment I) and replicable (Experiment II) means to deactivate SARS-CoV-2. When tested against SARS-CoV-2, the test compound GSE 0.2% was the only compound effective at reducing >3 log10 CCID50 infectious virus from, 3.67 log10 CCID50/0.1 mL to an undetectable amount of infectious virus. The present results validated by two independent sets of experiments, performed by different labs, on different viral strains, provide early evidence to encourage further pilot and clinical studies aimed at investigating the use of Xlear as a potential treatment for COVID-19

The emergence of respiratory viruses has been attracting considerable interest due to their potential to cause pandemics, such as the 1918 Spanish flu, the 2019 Coronavirus disease, and recently the Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in pediatric populations. There is a critical need to identify potential agents that can be included as part of the countermeasures to aid in the preparedness for a rapid public health response in case of a pandemic. This study aimed to explore the antiviral potential of sugar alcohols against respiratory viruses with pandemic potential. Methods: The antiviral activity of three sugar alcohols commonly utilized in the food and pharmaceutical industry, namely sorbitol, erythritol, and xylitol, were evaluated against Influenza (H1N1), RSV (A2), and SARS-CoV-2 (B.1.617.2; Delta) via a highly differentiated, three-dimensional, in vitro model of normal, intact, human-derived tracheal/bronchial epithelial cells. The sugar alcohol solutions were tested at a 5% concentration in duplicate inserts of the three-dimensional tissue models of the human airway. Results: Antiviral activity was measured in virus yield reduction assays by calculating the log reduction value defined as the average reduction of virus compared to the average virus control on day 3 (Influenza), day (RSV), and day 6 (SARS-CoV-2) after infection. Antiviral agents utilized as comparators were Ribavirin (Influenza, RSV) and Remdesivir (SARS-CoV-2). Erythritol displayed antiviral efficacy against Influenza with a log reduction value of 3.17. RSV was effectively inactivated by both sorbitol and xylitol with 2.49 and 2.65 log reduction values, respectively. All tested sugar alcohols inactivated SARS-CoV-2 Delta with a median log reduction value of 3.50. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that alone or in combination, sugar alcohols can inactivate respiratory viruses known to have pandemic potential. Additional research is needed to advance the development of sugar alcohols as chemotherapeutic countermeasures against other pandemic respiratory viruses.