The herpes simplex virus, also known as HSV, is an important human pathogen. Acyclovir (ACV) is the first-line antiviral for the treatment of HSV infections; nevertheless HSV resistance to ACV has been increasingly reported and, therefore, search for alternative drugs have been encouraged. Herein, the effect of Cucumis melo sulfated pectin (SPCm) was evaluated in the HSV-1 infection. Pectin cytotoxicity and its antiherpetic action were determined by assays of MTT and plaque reduction, respectively. The SPCm concentration that reduced the cell viability by 50% (CC50) was 1440 μg mL−1, while the concentration that reduced PFU in 50% (IC50) was 6 μg mL−1against ACV-sensitive (KOS) strain and 12 μg mL−1for ACV-resistant (AR-29) strain. The pectin showed high selectivity index (SI) for both viral strains. Therefore, we suggest that SPCm has been effective for HSV-1, strenghten by viral protein and DNA syntheses inhibition. In conclusion, we have found that SPCm is a promising alternative compound to control HSV infection.
The number of chromosomes and the meiotic characterization are important to studies involving genetic variability, germplasm and biodiversity. However, native forest species have not been sufficiently analyzed from a cytotaxonomic point of view. Therefore, the number of chromosomes, the meiotic behavior and the pollen viability of the Diatenopteryx sorbifolia Radlk were determined from five different accessions located in the southern region of Brazil. The species was considered diploid, 2n = 30 (x = 15), with regular meiotic behavior in phase I and absent in phase II, suggesting the presence of a genetic abnormality. Pollen grains infertility was between 57 and 67%. which may be associated to the formation of a low number of seeds in Diatenopteryx sorbifolia, probably due to the irregular behavior of the microsporogenesis.
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