Unlocking the anti-herpetic properties of plants found in Egypt

This study was conducted by researchers from the National Research Centre in Egypt and the University of South Brittany – Campus Tohannic in France to evaluate the anti-herpetic activity of 25 different Egyptian plants in vitro. The results were published in the journal Food Science and Human Wellness.

• The researchers used Vero cell lines to evaluate the antiviral activity of extracts obtained from different plants against Herpes Simplex Virus type 1 (HSV-1).
• They found that extracts from only two plants, namely, Euphorbia coopire (Euphorbiaceae) and Morus alba (Moraceae) showed potent anti-herpetic activity. Six other extracts showed moderate inhibition.
• They conducted a bioassay-monitored phytochemical exploration of the two plants and isolated pure flavonoid compounds from them.
• They examined the antiviral activity of the isolated compounds and found that these seven pure compounds exhibited significant inhibition of HSV-1 viral activity:
  • 7-O-galloyl catechin
  • Gallic acid
  • Kaempferol 3-O-B-(6?-O-galloyl)-glucopyranoside
  • Quercetin 3-O-B-(6?-O-galloyl)-glucopyranoside
  • Curcumin
  • Quercetin
  • Kaempferol
• Among the seven compounds, they identified gallic acid, 7-O-galloyl catechin, and curcumin as the compounds with the strongest antiviral activity.

Based on these results, the researchers concluded that gallic acid, 7-O-galloyl catechin, and curcumin could be potential therapeutic agents for the treatment of adenoviral infections.

Read the full study at this link.

Journal Reference:

El-Toumy SA, Salib JY, El-Kashak WA, Marty C, Bedoux G, Bourgougnon N. ANTIVIRAL EFFECT OF POLYPHENOL RICH PLANT EXTRACTS ON HERPES SIMPLEX VIRUS TYPE 1. Food Science and Human Wellness. 2018;7(1):91–101. DOI: 10.1016/j.fshw.2018.01.001