Virucidal Activity of Lemon Juice Against Feline Calicivirus, Surrogate of Norovirus

Noroviruses are a major cause of acute gastroenteritis, often transmitted through contaminated food and water. In this study, lemon juice (LJ), rich in citric acid (CA) and flavonoids, was tested against Feline Calicivirus (FCV), used as a surrogate of human norovirus. Significant virucidal activity...

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Main Authors: Gianvito Lanave, Francesco Pellegrini, Cristiana Catella, Helena Mateos, Gerardo Palazzo, Arturo Gentile, Georgia Diakoudi, Matteo Burgio, Maria Tempesta, Vito Martella, Michele Camero
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-03-01
Series:Antibiotics
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6382/14/3/273
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author Gianvito Lanave
Francesco Pellegrini
Cristiana Catella
Helena Mateos
Gerardo Palazzo
Arturo Gentile
Georgia Diakoudi
Matteo Burgio
Maria Tempesta
Vito Martella
Michele Camero
author_facet Gianvito Lanave
Francesco Pellegrini
Cristiana Catella
Helena Mateos
Gerardo Palazzo
Arturo Gentile
Georgia Diakoudi
Matteo Burgio
Maria Tempesta
Vito Martella
Michele Camero
author_sort Gianvito Lanave
collection DOAJ
description Noroviruses are a major cause of acute gastroenteritis, often transmitted through contaminated food and water. In this study, lemon juice (LJ), rich in citric acid (CA) and flavonoids, was tested against Feline Calicivirus (FCV), used as a surrogate of human norovirus. Significant virucidal activity was observed for pure LJ (pH = 2.3), with a reduction in viral titers as high as 4.50 log<sub>10</sub> TCID<sub>50</sub>/50 µL after 30 s and complete inactivation after 1 min. LJ also showed limited virucidal activity at a dilution of 1:2000 (pH = 6.7), with a reduction in viral titer of 0.75 log<sub>10</sub> TCID<sub>50</sub>/50 µL. CA (at the same molarity as CA in pure LJ and adjusted to pH = 2.3) exhibited virucidal effects comparable to pure LJ, with a decrease in viral titers as high as 3.75 log<sub>10</sub> TCID<sub>50</sub>/50 µL, whilst diluted CA (pH = 6.7) did not show significant effects. This study demonstrated the virucidal efficacy of LJ, suggesting the role of pH and, eventually, of LJ bioactive compounds against a norovirus surrogate. Due to its large use in food preparation, LJ has the potential to enhance the safety of raw food. Also, broader applications in personal hygiene and surface disinfection could be devised.
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spelling doaj-art-4599fa10164d42d485f80b4444f754e12025-08-20T02:42:41ZengMDPI AGAntibiotics2079-63822025-03-0114327310.3390/antibiotics14030273Virucidal Activity of Lemon Juice Against Feline Calicivirus, Surrogate of NorovirusGianvito Lanave0Francesco Pellegrini1Cristiana Catella2Helena Mateos3Gerardo Palazzo4Arturo Gentile5Georgia Diakoudi6Matteo Burgio7Maria Tempesta8Vito Martella9Michele Camero10Department of Veterinary Medicine, University Aldo Moro of Bari, 70010 Valenzano, ItalyDepartment of Veterinary Medicine, University Aldo Moro of Bari, 70010 Valenzano, ItalyDepartment of Veterinary Medicine, University Aldo Moro of Bari, 70010 Valenzano, ItalyDepartment of Chemistry and CSGI (Centre for Colloid and Surface Science), University Aldo Moro of Bari, 70121 Bari, ItalyDepartment of Chemistry and CSGI (Centre for Colloid and Surface Science), University Aldo Moro of Bari, 70121 Bari, ItalyDepartment of Veterinary Medicine, University Aldo Moro of Bari, 70010 Valenzano, ItalyDepartment of Veterinary Medicine, University Aldo Moro of Bari, 70010 Valenzano, ItalyDepartment of Veterinary Medicine, University Aldo Moro of Bari, 70010 Valenzano, ItalyDepartment of Veterinary Medicine, University Aldo Moro of Bari, 70010 Valenzano, ItalyDepartment of Veterinary Medicine, University Aldo Moro of Bari, 70010 Valenzano, ItalyDepartment of Veterinary Medicine, University Aldo Moro of Bari, 70010 Valenzano, ItalyNoroviruses are a major cause of acute gastroenteritis, often transmitted through contaminated food and water. In this study, lemon juice (LJ), rich in citric acid (CA) and flavonoids, was tested against Feline Calicivirus (FCV), used as a surrogate of human norovirus. Significant virucidal activity was observed for pure LJ (pH = 2.3), with a reduction in viral titers as high as 4.50 log<sub>10</sub> TCID<sub>50</sub>/50 µL after 30 s and complete inactivation after 1 min. LJ also showed limited virucidal activity at a dilution of 1:2000 (pH = 6.7), with a reduction in viral titer of 0.75 log<sub>10</sub> TCID<sub>50</sub>/50 µL. CA (at the same molarity as CA in pure LJ and adjusted to pH = 2.3) exhibited virucidal effects comparable to pure LJ, with a decrease in viral titers as high as 3.75 log<sub>10</sub> TCID<sub>50</sub>/50 µL, whilst diluted CA (pH = 6.7) did not show significant effects. This study demonstrated the virucidal efficacy of LJ, suggesting the role of pH and, eventually, of LJ bioactive compounds against a norovirus surrogate. Due to its large use in food preparation, LJ has the potential to enhance the safety of raw food. Also, broader applications in personal hygiene and surface disinfection could be devised.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6382/14/3/273virucidal activitylemon juicenoroviruscitric aciddisinfection
spellingShingle Gianvito Lanave
Francesco Pellegrini
Cristiana Catella
Helena Mateos
Gerardo Palazzo
Arturo Gentile
Georgia Diakoudi
Matteo Burgio
Maria Tempesta
Vito Martella
Michele Camero
Virucidal Activity of Lemon Juice Against Feline Calicivirus, Surrogate of Norovirus
Antibiotics
virucidal activity
lemon juice
norovirus
citric acid
disinfection
title Virucidal Activity of Lemon Juice Against Feline Calicivirus, Surrogate of Norovirus
title_full Virucidal Activity of Lemon Juice Against Feline Calicivirus, Surrogate of Norovirus
title_fullStr Virucidal Activity of Lemon Juice Against Feline Calicivirus, Surrogate of Norovirus
title_full_unstemmed Virucidal Activity of Lemon Juice Against Feline Calicivirus, Surrogate of Norovirus
title_short Virucidal Activity of Lemon Juice Against Feline Calicivirus, Surrogate of Norovirus
title_sort virucidal activity of lemon juice against feline calicivirus surrogate of norovirus
topic virucidal activity
lemon juice
norovirus
citric acid
disinfection
url https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6382/14/3/273
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