Intracellular Replication Inhibitory Effects of Tea Tree Oil on Vesicular Stomatitis Virus and Anti-inflammatory Activities in Vero Cells

Abstract

Viral disease management has been proven difficult, and there are no broadly licensed vaccines or therapeutics. Vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) is an active pathogen of wild ungulates and livestock; its infection frequently caused irreversible vesicles on the tongue or other positions, leading to enormous economic loss. Tea tree oil (TTO) has been shown to be a popular remedy for many skin diseases owing to its antibacterial, antipruritic, and anti-inflammatory effects. However, the potential effect of TTO on VSV proliferation and the corresponding inflammatory response in cells remain unclear. In this study, methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium assay was used to evaluate the cell viability of TTO, and cytotoxic concentration 50 (CC50) was calculated. Then, fluorescence observation, reverse transcription–quantitative polymerase chain reaction, Western blot (WB), and flow cytometry (FCM) assay were used to evaluate the antiviral effect of TTO against VSV under three manners of pre-infection before medication, co-administration, pretreatment before infection at safe doses to Vero cells. Meanwhile, the mRNA expressions of interleukin 8, tumor necrosis factor α, and ISG56 in cells were also detected. The results showed that the maximum safe concentration of TTO to Vero cells was 0.063% and the CC50 is 0.32%. Most notably, TTO dose-dependently inhibited the VSV GFP fluorescence generation and restrained the replication of VSV in gene and protein levels regardless of the treatment modes. Based on the results of the FCM, effective concentration 50 of TTO against VSV is 0.019%. Similarly, the mRNA expression of the above cytokines induced by viral infection was also remarkably curbed. These findings suggest that TTO emerged blocking, prophylaxis, and treatment action against VSV replication and suppressed the related inflammation in Vero cells. This study provides a novel potential for TTO fighting against viral infection and anti-inflammatory activities in Vero cells.

Terpinen-4-ol Improves Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Macrophage Inflammation by Regulating Glutamine Metabolism

“…Many studies have found that TTO can inhibit LPS- [ 14 , 15 ], bacteria- [ 16 ], and Indiana vesiculovirus- [ 17 ] induced host cell inflammation. TTO has diverse components, which mainly include T-4-O, γ-terpinene, α-terpineol, and 1,8-cineole [ 18 ].…”

Effects of adding tea tree oil on growth performance, immune function, and intestinal function of broilers

“…Growth performance is an important indicator to assess animal growth and the efficacy of supplements in the poultry industry. Tea tree oil has been reported to have broad-spectrum antibacterial functions ( Carson et al, 2006 ) as well as antioxidant properties ( Souza et al, 2018 ), antitumor effects ( Clark et al, 2021 ), and anti-inflammation activity ( Shao et al, 2021 ). TTO is used extensively as a daily supplement for medical care and oral health in human medicine ( Lee et al, 2017 ; Salvatori et al, 2017 ).…”

Mechanisms, Techniques and Devices of Airborne Virus Detection: A Review

“…Shao et al showed that TTO has a blocking effect on vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) replication at the gene and protein level. This offers potential for its use in the control of SARS-CoV-2 virus, and relevant experiments can be conducted to validate it [ 114 ]. Miyaoka et al have demonstrated that spraying on aerosols with acidic hypochlorite water (SAHW) can lower viral activity and hence prevent infections [ 115 ].…”