Background Plant species from the genus Tecoma are found in tropical and subtropical regions around the world. Some of them are grown as ornamental plants and others can be used as medicinal plants. In the present study, ethanolic extracts from trunks and leaves of Tecoma species were tested in vitro using assays against the Zika virus. Methods There was a total of 8 extracts obtained from different anatomical parts of three Tecoma species. The Tecoma castaneifolia , T. garrocha , T. stans var. angustata and T. stans var. stans were prepared by percolation with ethanol. The antiviral activity was assayed in vitro against the Zika virus by the MTT colorimetric method ( n = 3). The UPLC-DAD-MS analysis of ethanolic extracts was performed from all the studied species. The biofractionation of T. stans var. stans trunk extract using different separation techniques led to the isolation of crenatoside compound. Results Ethanolic extract from Tecoma species leaves were more active against the Zika virus (EC 50 149.90 to 61.25 μg/mL) when compared to the trunk extracts tested (EC 50 131.0 to 66.79 μg/mL and two were not active). The ethyl acetate and aqueous fractions obtained from T. stans var. stans trunk were active against the Zika virus with EC 50 values of 149.90 and 78.98 μg/mL, respectively. Crenatoside is a phenylethanoid glycoside isolated from the ethyl acetate of T. stans var. stans trunk extract. This compound was tested and exhibited EC 50 34.78 μM (21.64 μg/mL), thus demonstrating a better result than the original ethanolic extracts as well as others extracts of Tecoma species, and it was more active than the positive control, ribavirin (386.84 μM). Furthermore, its selectivity index was at least 2.5 times higher than the tested ethanolic extracts and 11.1 times more potent than ribavirin. Conclusion The Tecoma species demonstrated interesting in vitro activity against the Zika virus . The crenatoside, phenylethanoid glycoside that was for the first time isolated from Tecoma stans var. stans , exhibited a potent and relevant anti- Zika virus activity, being more active than ribavirin (positive ...

Cissus erosa (Vitaceae), popularly known in Brazil as Cipó-fogo, is a medicinal plant used in the treatment of warts and external ulcers. The present study aimed to evaluate the activity of stems and leaves ethanol extracts of C. erosa against the Dengue and Zika virus by the MTT colorimetric method and to carry on the phytochemical characterization of active extracts by high performance liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS). Only the leaves ethanol extract showed anti-Dengue virus activity EC50 18.2 µg/ml (SI > 27.5) and low cytotoxicity for LLCMK2 cells (CC50 > 500 mg/ml). Both extracts (stems and leaves) showed anti-Zika virus activity with EC50 of 45.8 mg/ml and 82.8 mg/ml, respectively. These extracts presented CC50 of 309.2 µg/ml (leaves) and 387.6 µg/ml (stems) to Vero cells. Analysis by CCD and HPLC-DAD detected the presence of triterpenes, steroids, flavonoids and tannins. UPLC-MS analyses of these extracts, allowed the identification of the majority of flavonoids present known as vitexin, isovitexin, orientin, isoorientin and two flavones derivatives, methoxyluteolin-6(8)-C-hexosyl and luteolin-7,4’-di-O-glycosylflavone. The results of the phytochemical studies here described suggest that flavonoids and terpenoids are the substances that contribute to the antiviral activity of the ethanol extracts within this species.

The flavonoids and xanthones present in the ethanol extracts of leaves and stems of Fridericia samydoides showed that anti-dengue activities in vitro were investigated qualitatively by liquid chromatography-ultraviolet-mass spectrometry in series. Nineteen flavones and fifteen xanthones were detected and characterized on the basis of their fragmentation pattern in the positive and negative ion mode tandem mass spectrometry spectra and ultraviolet bands. Acacetin, chrysin, vitexin, isovitexin, orientin, isoorientin, mangiferin, 2'-O-trans-caffeoylmangiferin, 2'-O-trans-coumaroylmangiferin and 2'-O-trans-cinnamoylmangiferin were identified by comparison with authentic samples. The other compounds detected were tentatively assigned by analysis of the spectral data and by comparison with literature reports. In addition, it performed the fractionation of the leaves extract leading to the isolation of mangiferin, isovitexin and isoorientin. All extracts and isolated compounds inhibited the Dengue virus replication cycle with EC 50 less than 25.0 µg/mL for extracts and 272.5, 85.6 and 79.3 µg/mL for mangiferin, isovitexin and isoorientin, respectively.