Influenza virus infection is associated with high morbidity and mortality, and effective prophylactic and therapeutic methods to reduce infection outbreaks are lacking. Vaccination and current prevention/treatment approaches are not associated with a decline in morbidity or mortality, either globally or in the United States. Neither vaccination nor current anti-viral drugs prevent viral entry into the body and host cells, but rather target post-infection events in individuals. Hand washing and sanitizing do not prevent aerosol viral transmission, which accounts for the majority of influenza virus infections. Therefore, protection of the epithelia of the respiratory tract from viral entry is a significant gap in preventive strategies that needs to be filled. We hypothesize that lipophilic epigallocatechin-3-gallate (L-EGCG), and EGCG-palmitate (EC16) in particular, is able to fill this gap and become a first-in-class prophylactic and therapeutic approach against influenza virus infection. The objective of the current study was to investigate a proof-of-concept for the use of EC16 to prevent and treat influenza virus infection. The experimental design included direct contact of formulations containing EC16 with H1N1 influenza virus prior to infection assay (TCID50) in MDCK cells, incubation of cells with EC16 formulations either before or after H1N1 viral infection (without direct formulation contact with the virus), and coating the cell surface with EC16 formulations prior to H1N1 viral infection, followed by TCID50 assays. The results demonstrated that at a 0.1% concentration, EC16 formulations were effective (>95%) in blocking H1N1 infection regardless of direct contact with the virus. In conclusion, formulations containing EC16 could be an effective prophylactic and therapeutic approach to combat influenza infection in the respiratory tract, pending further in vitro and in vivo studies.

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Background: Norovirus is a major cause of acute gastroenteritis. Alcohol sanitization is ineffective, and currently used alcohol-based hand sanitizers are not recommended by the CDC for norovirus in healthcare settings. This study evaluated virucidal activity and surface persistence of a novel alcohol-based hand sanitizer formulation, ProtecTeaV, containing lipophilic epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG-p) against a human norovirus surrogate.Methods: Virucidal capacity against feline calicivirus (FCV) was tested using a standard 50% Tissue Culture Infective Dose (TCID50) suspension assay. Persistence of residual virucidal activity after application on a clean surface was determined through 12 hours. Controls included the formulation without EGCG-p, popular alcoholbased sanitizers, and antibacterial liquid hand soap (LHS). Statistical analysis employed one-way ANOVA (alpha=0.05).Results: Suspension assays demonstrated that the ProtecTeaV formulation effectively reduced FCV viral infectivity >log 10 4 (10,000 fold). Surface applied residue activity remained strong (reduction of infectivity by > log 10 3) through 12 hours. In comparison, LHS did not show virucidal activity without washing with water, and other controls failed to reduce infectivity by more than log 10 3 (1,000 fold). Conclusion:This non-toxic hand sanitizer/surface disinfectant demonstrated effective and prolonged virucidal activities against a norovirus surrogate. Therefore, the EGCG-p formulation is potentially a novel and effective approach to curtail norovirus outbreaks. Research ArticleCitation: Widjaja Nicole, Dickinson Douglas, Shao Xueling, et al. Persistent Virucidal Activity in an Alcohol-Based Sanitizer Formulation (ProtecTeaV) for Potential Use against Norovirus. Microbiol Infect Dis. 2018; 2(2): 1-8.

Objective: Currently used alcohol-based hand sanitizers and surgical hand rubs are not effective against alcoholresistant microorganisms. We reported previously that nontoxic antioxidant food additive compounds derived from green tea polyphenols, particularly epigallocatechin-3-gallate-palmitate (EC16), are suitable for use in alcohol formulations to effectively inactivate nonenveloped viruses and bacterial spores. However, whether EC16 influences the bactericidal and fungicidal activity of alcohol is not clear. The objective of the current study was to determine the bactericidal and fungicidal activities of ProtecTeaV hand sanitizer and surface spray prototypes containing EC16. Methods: The prototypes were tested according to the guidelines from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Results: As expected, EC16 did not reduce the bactericidal and fungicidal activities of ethanol. The hand sanitizer gel formulation was equally effective as 70% ethanol and met the tested standard, and the surface spray prototype met the EPA performance standard. Conclusions: EC16 can be combined with ethanol without reducing antibacterial or antifungal activity, and the ProtecTeaV prototypes could be further developed into novel hand hygiene and surface disinfectant products with virucidal, bactericidal, fungicidal and sporicidal activities.

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