Antiviral activity of garlic extract on Influenza virus

Abstract

Influenza virus is the most important cause of annual morbidities and mortalities worldwide with numerous antigenic drifts and shifts. Inaccessibility to effective drugs and vaccines has made world health authorities to be interested in traditional medicine in order to prevent spread of the infectious agent. Garlic is one of the most famous of all plants in human history. It has been shown that garlic extract has various effects on different diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate garlic extract antiviral activity against influenza virus in cell culture. To study the potential antiviral activity, MDCK (Madin-Darbey Canin Kidney) cells were treated with effective minimal cytotoxic concentration of the extract and 100 TCID50 (50% Tissue Culture Infectious Dose) of the virus during infection at different time periods. The viral titers were determined by hemagglutination (HA) and TCID50 assays. The antiviral effect of the extract was studied at 1, 8 and 24 hours after treatment on the culture. To measure the amount of the viral genome synthesized at different times after treatment, RNA extraction, Reverse TranscriptionPolymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) and free band densitometry software were performed. Although the precise mechanism has not been defined yet, it was found that garlic extract with a good selectivity index (SI) has inhibitory effect on the virus penetration and proliferation in cell culture.

In Vitro Antiviral Activity of Clove and Ginger Aqueous Extracts against Feline Calicivirus, a Surrogate for Human Norovirus

“…Many studies have reported significant antiviral activity of some natural extracts, such as the antiviral activity of garlic extract and the fructan from Welsh onion against influenza virus type A (24,28). In addition, an aqueous extract of fresh ginger was found to have antiviral activity against human respiratory syncytial virus (10).…”

Assessment of direct immunofluorescence assay in detection of antiviral effect of garlic extract on influenza virus

“…In our previous study, we showed significant antiviral activity of GE on influenza infection by conventional methods especially in the first steps of infection through inhibition of penetration. In that study, we focused on three time points of treatments (1, 8 and 24 h) in cell-free combination of GE (10 µg/ml) and influenza virus (100TCID 50 ) (0.5 MOI) in 37°C and finally 1 h incubation with the cell and incubating with TPCK for 48 h. Evaluating the results by HA, MTT and RT-PCR clarified significant preventive effect of GE on the adsorption of the virus particle to the cell by decreasing HA titer, increasing cell viability and decreasing the viral genome level even in short time of 1 h incubation time (Mehrbod et al, 2009). In this regard, we designed the current study to evaluate immunofluorescent assay as a reliable and rapid diagnostic test for this infection for this short time of 1 h incubation.…”

“…Briefly, the fresh garlic bulbs were stripped off the outer theca on crushed ice, chopped, smashed and filter sterilized through sterile 0.22 µm syringe filter and stored at 4°C for further use. The effective minimal cytotoxic concentration (EMCC) of the extract was determined 10 µg/ml as previously reported (Mehrbod et al, 2009). Briefly, confluent MDCK cells in 96-well microplate (Nunc, Denmark) were exposed to different dilutions of GE in triplicates and incubated for 48 h. Colorimetric MTT assay was performed as described elsewhere.…”

Review on selected potential nutritional intervention for treatment and prevention of viral infections: possibility of recommending these for Coronavirus 2019

“…[117] A wide range of pathogenic organisms, including protozoa, bacteria, fungi, and viruses be delicate to fresh garlic . [118] Garlic extract has shown an inhibitory effect on IAV penetration and proliferation in cell culture . [118] Shojai et al conclude that the Allium sativum had inhibitory effects on the infectious bronchitis virus (IBV), a disease caused by a coronavirus, in the chicken's embryo.…”