Antiviral Activity of a Carrageenan fromGigartina skottsbergiiagainst Intraperitoneal MurineHerpes simplexVirus Infection

Abstract

The partially cyclized mu/nu-carrageenan 1C3, isolated from the red seaweed Gigartina skottsbergii, was previously shown to be a potent inhibitor of the in vitro replication of Herpes simplex virus types 1 (HSV-1) and 2 (HSV-2). Here the protective effect of 1C3 in a murine model of intraperitoneal ( i. p.) HSV-1 infection was evaluated. OF1 mice were i. p. infected with 5 x 10 (5) PFU of HSV-1 KOS strain, and the effects of different treatments with 1C3 were studied. When 30 mg/kg of body weight of 1C3 was administered by the i. p. route immediately after HSV-1 infection, 87.5 % survival of the animals was achieved (p < 0.005), associated with a delay in the mean day of death in 1C3-treated non-surviving mice. Animal survival was not improved when multiple doses of 1C3 were also given in the period 1 - 48 h post-infection, and no protection was afforded when treatment was started after 24 h of infection. When virus and compound were injected by different routes, i. p. and intravenous ( i. v.), respectively, a still significant protection was achieved (40 % survival, p < 0.05). No toxicity of 1C3 for the animals was recorded. The pharmacokinetic properties were analyzed after injection of 1C3 into the tail vein by monitoring of [ (3)H]-1C3 in plasma and organs and by a bioassay of the anti-HSV-1 activity remaining in serum after non-radioactive 1C3 inoculation. A very rapid disappearance of the compound from the blood was observed since only 5.9 - 0.9 % of the radioactivity of the initially administered [ (3)H]-1C3 appeared in the plasma between 5-300 minutes after administration. A transient peak of radioactivity was detected in the kidney 15 minutes after inoculation. The bioassay confirms the presence of the compound circulating in a biologically active form up to 1 hour after injection.

An Algal-Derived DL-Galactan Hybrid is an Efficient Preventing Agent for in vitro Dengue Virus Infection

“…At present, the limitations of the available animal models of DENV infection have restricted the in vivo evaluation of compounds with in vitro proved antiviral activity. However, algal polysaccharides have shown in vivo antiviral activity against other enveloped viruses like murine leukemia virus [13], HSV [10], [14], cytomegalovirus [15] and yellow fever virus [16], warranting the future perspectives of these natural compounds for prevention against dengue. …”

Herpes simplex virus: Drug resistance and new treatment options using natural products (Review)

“…Protection was not improved when repeated hourly doses were administered at up to 48 h post infection, indicating that the substance plays a role early in the virus replication process. Indeed, treatment initiated 24 h post infection yielded no improvement compared to non-treated animals (49).…”

Evaluation of in vitro antiviral activity of a brown alga (Cystoseira myrica) from the Persian Gulf against herpes simplex virus type 1

“…There are some publications about antiviral properties of different species of marine algae such as brown, green and red algae (Damonte et al, 1996;Lopez et al, 2001;Lee et al, 2004;Serkedjieva, 2004;Richards et al, 1978;Preeprame et al, 2001;Ghosh et al, 2004;Hayashi et al, 2006;Pujol et al, 2006). In most studies done in this area, the viruses tested belonged to the herpesviridae family, especially herpes simplex viruses.…”