To advance a novel concept of debulking virus in the oral cavity, the primary site of viral replication, virus-trapping proteins CTB-ACE2 were expressed in chloroplasts and clinical-grade plant material was developed to meet FDA requirements. Chewing gum (2 g) containing plant cells expressed CTB-ACE2 up to 17.2 mg ACE2/g dry weight (11.7% leaf protein), have physical characteristics and taste/flavor like conventional gums, and no protein was lost during gum compression. CTB-ACE2 gum efficiently (>95%) inhibited entry of lentivirus spike or VSV-spike pseudovirus into Vero/CHO cells when quantified by luciferase or red fluorescence. Incubation of CTB-ACE2 microparticles reduced SARS-CoV-2 virus count in COVID-19 swab/saliva samples by >95% when evaluated by microbubbles (femtomolar concentration) or qPCR, demonstrating both virus trapping and blocking of cellular entry. COVID-19 saliva samples showed low or undetectable ACE2 activity when compared with healthy individuals (2,582 versus 50,126 DRFU; 27 versus 225 enzyme units), confirming greater susceptibility of infected patients for viral entry. CTB-ACE2 activity was completely inhibited by pre-incubation with SARS-CoV-2 receptor-binding domain, offering an explanation for reduced saliva ACE2 activity among COVID-19 patients. Chewing gum with virus-trapping proteins offers a general affordable strategy to protect patients from most oral virus re-infections through debulking or minimizing transmission to others.

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Increasingly, the world is realizing that better use must be made of precious natural resources. Today, with the enrichment of people's awareness on environment problems and the demand of environment-friendly fabric, natural fibers have received a great deal of attention due to their great importance of "green" and health protection properties and have been widely used in many fields, such as textile industry and daily life. Traditional resource of four natural fibers, cotton, wool, silk, and flax is after all limited. So, many new plant fibers, such as hemp, apocynum, mulberry bast fiber, pineapple leaf fiber, banana fiber, bamboo fiber, kapok fiber, and so on, have been exploited in recent years. The luxury sector, particularly fashion has a high environmental footprint and is responsible for a significant amount of waste. Designers committed to sustainable processes face a severe lack of options in terms of the actual goods used to make their products, with everything from fabric to embellishments being in short and expensive supply. This chapter aims to give an insight into the comprehensive details of conventional as well as unconventional sustainable luxury fibers which are going to be dominated in luxury fashion industry in the forthcoming years.