Antiviral activity of Agaricus blazei Murrill ss. Heinem extract against human and bovine herpesviruses in cell culture

Abstract

The aqueous extract of Agaricus blazei Murill ss. Heinem, a basidiomycete native from Brazil, frequently used by popular medicine, mainly in the form of tea, was assessed to its antiviral action against herpes simplex type 1 (HSV-1) and bovine herpes type 1 (BoHV-1) in HEp-2 cell culture. Viral replication inhibition was evaluated by plaque assay and immunofluorescence test. The extract demonstrated virucide action for both viruses, being more effective against HSV-1, inhibiting its infectivity in 78.4 and 73.9% at the concentrations of 50 and 100 µg/mL, respectively moreover, reduction in 47% the number of fluorescent cells was observed for both concentrations. The extract also showed discrete therapeutic activity. These results suggest that A. blazei extract acts mainly in the viral particle, however, the effect during virus replication can not be ruled out.

Antiherpetic activity of an Agaricus brasiliensis polysaccharide, its sulfated derivative and fractions

“…However, no effect was shown for virucidal, attachment inhibition or treatment prior to infection protocols, at the concentrations used. These results are in agreement with similar experiments carried out with extracts of A. brasiliensis in herpesvirus and poliovirus infection, in that inhibitory effect was observed when cells were treated with extracts at the time of infection or when treatment was followed the infection [13,14,16]. Interestingly, we demonstrated that original nonsulfated PLS showed better inhibition than the sulfated derivative and F3 fraction due to the extended effect observed at the time 1 h after infection.…”

“…It is also used as antimutagenic, antioxidant, and as immune stimulator [10]. Some studies report the antiviral activity of extracts and compounds from mycelium or fruiting body of A. brasiliensis at replication of poliovirus (PV), Western equine encephalitis (WEE), Hepatitis B (HBV) and C (HCB) virus and HSV-1 and HSV-2 [11][12][13][14][15][16]. The aim of the present study was to investigate the antiviral activity of an A. brasiliensis polysaccharide, its fractions, as well as, its carboxymethylated and sulfated derivatives in the replication of HSV-1 and BoHV-1.…”

Antiherpetic Mechanism of a Sulfated Derivative of <b><i>Agaricus brasiliensis</i></b> Fruiting Bodies Polysaccharide

“…Since HSV-1 KOS and HSV-2 333 infectivity was not impaired by FR-S, we were led to believe that the antiherpetic activity detected by plaque assay (table 1) was due to the interference on the HSV replication cycle. Bruggemann et al [12] reported HSV-1 virucidal activity for an aqueous extract of A. brasiliensis , but these researchers employed a different experimental design. The sample was extracted in water at room temperature and no sulfation derivatization was performed.…”

“…Although some authors have reported the antiviral activity of A. brasiliensis extracts against Western equine encephalitis virus [11], HSV-1 [11,12], bovine herpesvirus 1 [12,13], and poliovirus 1 [14], as well as the anti-HSV activity of an A. brasiliensis polysaccharide and its sulfated derivative [15], the glucans described herein are structurally different and present diverse in vitro anti-HSV activity and modes of action.…”

Fungal Cultivation and Production of Polysaccharides

“…Table 2 summarizes studies on the in vitro antiviral activity of polysaccharides, extracts, or fractions from A. subrufescens and A. blazei. Some extracts or fractions have showed antiviral activities against Western equine encephalitis (WEE) virus (Sorimachi et al 2001), herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) (Sorimachi et al 2001;Bruggemann et al 2006), bovine herpesvirus 1 (BoHV-1) (Bruggemann et al 2006), and poliovirus 1 (PV-1) (Faccin et al 2007). However, their chemical composition was not determined, which compromises structure-activity discussions and result comparisons.…”