Cissampelos pareira Linn: Natural Source of Potent Antiviral Activity against All Four Dengue Virus Serotypes

Abstract

BackgroundDengue, a mosquito-borne viral disease, poses a significant global public health risk. In tropical countries such as India where periodic dengue outbreaks can be correlated to the high prevalence of the mosquito vector, circulation of all four dengue viruses (DENVs) and the high population density, a drug for dengue is being increasingly recognized as an unmet public health need.Methodology/Principal findingsUsing the knowledge of traditional Indian medicine, Ayurveda, we developed a systematic bioassay-guided screening approach to explore the indigenous herbal bio-resource to identify plants with pan-DENV inhibitory activity. Our results show that the alcoholic extract of Cissampelos pariera Linn (Cipa extract) was a potent inhibitor of all four DENVs in cell-based assays, assessed in terms of viral NS1 antigen secretion using ELISA, as well as viral replication, based on plaque assays. Virus yield reduction assays showed that Cipa extract could decrease viral titers by an order of magnitude. The extract conferred statistically significant protection against DENV infection using the AG129 mouse model. A preliminary evaluation of the clinical relevance of Cipa extract showed that it had no adverse effects on platelet counts and RBC viability. In addition to inherent antipyretic activity in Wistar rats, it possessed the ability to down-regulate the production of TNF-α, a cytokine implicated in severe dengue disease. Importantly, it showed no evidence of toxicity in Wistar rats, when administered at doses as high as 2g/Kg body weight for up to 1 week.Conclusions/SignificanceOur findings above, taken in the context of the human safety of Cipa, based on its use in Indian traditional medicine, warrant further work to explore Cipa as a source for the development of an inexpensive herbal formulation for dengue therapy. This may be of practical relevance to a dengue-endemic resource-poor country such as India.

MiR-932 Regulates Pyrethroid Resistance inCulex pipiens pallens(Diptera: Culicidae)

“…Recent estimates show that there are about 400 million infections of dengue fever annually around the world (Sood et al 2015). According to the WHO world malaria report, there are still 214 million new infections worldwide in 2015.…”

Amentoflavone and Kaempferol Glycosides from the Aerial Parts of Cissampelos pareira

“…Similarly, kaempferol and/or its glycosides were also reported from more than 400 plant species and showed potent antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antitumor and antimicrobial activities [15]. In conclusion, three compounds, amentoflavone [1], kaempferol 3-O--D-glucopyranoside [2] and kaempferol 3-O--D-glucuronopyranoside [3] were isolated from the aerial parts of C. pareira. These compounds can be utilized as chemotaxonomic markers for the identification of crude drugs based on the aerial parts of C. pareira.…”

“…The roots are used for the treatment of indigestion, constipation, cough and cold and applied locally in snake bite [1]. Previous studies have reported antiviral [2], antiprotozoal [3] and antifertility [4] activities of the extracts of aerial parts of C. pareira. Regarding chemical constituents, alkaloids are reported as major constituents in leaves [5] and roots [6][7][8][9][10].…”

“…However, there are no other reports about individual flavonoids present in C. pareira aerial parts. Thus, in present study, we focused on the phenolic constituents in the aerial parts and isolated one biflavonoid [1] and two flavonoid glycosides [2,3], which are reported in this paper.…”

Antiviral and Immunomodulatory Effects of <b><i>Norantea brasiliensis</i></b> Choisy on Dengue Virus-2

“…Several plants have been reported to display antiviral activities [26,27,28,29]. More recently, these medicinal products are described as antiviral agents against DENV, inhibiting the viral load and/or their replication [30,31,32]. …”