Screening of ethnomedicinal plants of diverse culture for antiviral potentials

Abstract

Since time immemorial Ethnomedicinal plants have been used for diverse ailments including infectious diseases. There is an increasing need for new anti-infective molecules, particularly from the plants used in ethnomedicinal practices, as the treatment of infectious diseases with the antimicrobial drugs frequently develops drug-resistance microbes. Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and type 2 (HSV-2) causes a variety of diseases including herpes labiles, keratoconjunctivitis, encephalitis, herpes genitalis, and the lifelong latent infections in sensory nerve ganglia. Till date there is no effective anti-HSV vaccine, and the available drugs used against HSV infections have limited efficacy with frequent development of drug-resistant viruses. Here we have evaluated the anti-HSV potential of nine selected ethnomedicinal plant extracts of different families, traditionally used by diverse communities against skin, intestinal and sexual ailments, using wild-type and clinical isolates of HSV-1. The cytotoxicity of the extracts was determined on Vero cell by MTT assay; while the antiviral activity was screened by cytopathic effect reduction, MTT assay and plaque reduction assay. Interestingly the extracts of <i>Dillenia indica, Odina wodier </i>and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Moringa oleifera<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic"> </span></i>exhibited significant antiviral activity against HSV-1 at non-cytotoxic concentrations; while the extracts of <i>Morus alba</i> and <i>Butea monosperma </i>showed antiviral activity at higher concentrations.