In Vitro Dengue Virus Inhibition by Aqueous Extracts of Aegle marmelos, Munronia pinnata and Psidium guajava

Abstract

Dengue is an arboviral (insect-transmitted) infection of global concern. Currently, there are still no specific dengue antiviral agents to treat the disease. Plant extracts have been used in traditional medicine for treating various viral infections — thus, in the present study, aqueous extracts of dried flowers of Aegle marmelos (AM), whole plant of Munronia pinnata (MP) and leaves of Psidium guajava (PG) were investigated for their potential capacity to inhibit dengue virus infection of Vero cells. The maximum non-toxic dose (MNTD) and the 50% cytotoxic concentration (CC50) were determined by using the MTT assay. A plaque reduction antiviral assay was carried out with dengue virus types 1 (DV1), 2 (DV2), 3 (DV3) and 4 (DV4), in order to calculate the half-maximum inhibitory concentration (IC50). AM extract inhibited all four virus serotypes tested; MP extract inhibited DV1, DV2 and DV4, but not DV3; PG extract inhibited DV1, DV2 and DV4, but not DV3. Thus, the results suggest that AM is a promising candidate for the pan-serotype inhibition of dengue viral activity.

Medicinal Plants Used in Sri Lankan Traditional Medicine for Dengue Fever

“…This test can be used to test the activity of a potential antiviral treatment. The results of the above study revealed that this plant can inhibit DENV-1, DENV-2, and DENV-4 but not the DENV-3 serotype [54]. Furthermore, beta-caryophyllene, an active biological compound (Table 1) found in the plant, was reported to have a high binding affinity to dengue viral proteins during an in silico study conducted by Pajaro and colleagues [55].…”

Editorial

“…Such considerations on how we can improve drug development and testing are further complemented by the article of Jayakesera et al 11 These authors report their investigation into alternative sources of medications and efficacy testing using in vitro methods. Dengue virus can infect humans through the bite of an infected mosquito and is a significant cause of sickness and death, particularly in Asian and Latin American regions.…”

Anti-dengue viral activity of Glycyrrhiza glabra roots in Vero cells

“…In Sri Lankan traditional medicine extracts from the whole plant of Munronia pinnata (MP), leaves of Psidium guajava (PG), dried flowers of Aegle marmelos (AM) and roots of Glycyrrhiza glabra are used for treating fever patients. We studied these plants but as reported previously MP, PG and AM did not adequately inhibit all four dengue serotypes and therefore, were not studied further [10].…”