Rinsing for a minute with Listerine inhibits oral gonorrhea bacteria, Medscape reports. This finding has prompted further study into whether mouthwash could help prevent the spread of the increasingly common sexually transmitted infection.

After conducting laboratory tests finding that Listerine Cool Mint and Listerine Total Care combatted gonorrhea, researchers conducted a study of 58 men who have sex with men (MSM) who tested positive for gonorrhea in their mouths or throats and returned for treatment at a clinic in Melbourne between May 2015 and February 2016. They published their findings in the Journal of Sexually Transmitted Infections.

The investigators had 33 of the men gargle for one minute with Listerine while the others gargled for the same amount of time with a saline solution. Then they retested the men and found that those who received the mouthwash, compared with those who got the saline solution, were 80 percent less likely to test positive for gonorrhea bacteria in their throat and 86 percent less likely to test positive in their tonsils.

The study does not imply that Listerine can cure a gonorrhea infection; antibiotics are required for that.

To read the Medscape article, click here (free registration with the site is required).

To read the study abstract, click here.