Antiviral and virucidal effects of curcumin on transmissible gastroenteritis virus in vitro

Abstract

Emerging coronaviruses represent serious threats to human and animal health worldwide, and no approved therapeutics are currently available. Here, we used Transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV) as the alpha-coronavirus model, and investigated the antiviral properties of curcumin against TGEV. Our results demonstrated that curcumin strongly inhibited TGEV proliferation and viral protein expression in a dose-dependent manner. We also observed that curcumin exhibited direct virucidal abilities in a dose-, temperature- and time-dependent manner. Furthermore, time-of-addition assays showed that curcumin mainly acted in the early phase of TGEV replication. Notably, in an adsorption assay, curcumin at 40 µM resulted in a reduction in viral titres of 3.55 log TCID50 ml–1, indicating that curcumin possesses excellent inhibitory effects on the adsorption of TGEV. Collectively, we demonstrate for the first time that curcumin has virucidal activity and virtual inhibition against TGEV, suggesting that curcumin might be a candidate drug for effective control of TGEV infection.

Curcumin as an Antiviral Agent

“…Another virus that causes significant livestock and economic loss in the pork industry is transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGV), a porcine coronavirus [64]. Noting curcumin's activity against other enveloped viruses, Li et al [65] evaluated curcumin against TGV. Direct incubation with at least 20 µM of curcumin prior to infection reduced viral yield.…”

“…Direct incubation with at least 20 µM of curcumin prior to infection reduced viral yield. Furthermore, treatment with curcumin caused a dose-dependant decrease in viral absorption, and a reduction in both viral yield (IC 50 of 8.6 µM) and protein levels at concentrations that are non-toxic to porcine kidney (PD-15) cells [65].…”

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“…On the other hand, in another study, researchers claimed that the hydroxyl groups and phenyl rings of curcumin are responsible for the antiviral effect against the herpes simplex virus [68]. Curcumin showed an excellent inhibitory effect in the micromolar rage against transmissible gastroenteritis virus in cells in a dose-, temperature-and time-dependent manner [69]. In a very recent systematic review, Kunnumakkara et.…”

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“…Curcumin reduces collagen deposition, expression of myofibroblasts and slows down the development of pulmonary fibrosis (Amini et al 2018;Li et al 2020). Combined application of vitamin C, curcumin and glycyrrhizic acid was found effective against this virus by regulation of crucial pathways (Kandeel & Al-Nazawi 2020).…”