Medicinal plant molecules against hepatitis C virus: Current status and future prospect

Abstract

Hepatitis C virus (HCV), a global malady, causes acute and chronic hepatitis leading to permanent liver damage, hepatocellular carcinoma, and death. Modern anti‐HCV therapies are efficient, but mostly inaccessible for residents of underdeveloped regions. To innovate more effective treatments at affordable cost, medicinal plant‐based products need to be explored. The aim of this article is to review plant constituents in the light of putative anti‐HCV mechanisms of action, and discuss existing problems, challenges, and future directions for their potential application in therapeutic settings. One hundred sixty literatures were collected by using appropriate search strings via scientific search engines: Google Scholar, PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Scopus. Bibliography was prepared using Mendeley desktop software. We found a substantial number of plants that were reported to inhibit different stages of HCV life cycle. Traditional medicinal plants such as Phyllanthus amarus Schumach. and Thonn., Eclipta alba (L.) Hassk., and Acacia nilotica (L.) Delile exhibited strong anti‐HCV activities. Again, several phytochemicals such as epigallocatechin‐3‐gallate, honokilol, punicalagin, and quercetin have shown broad‐spectrum anti‐HCV effect. We have presented promising phytochemicals like silymarin, curcumin, glycyrrhizin, and camptothecin for nanoparticle‐based hepatocyte‐targeted drug delivery. Nevertheless, only a few animal studies have been performed to validate the anti‐HCV effect of these plant products. Again, insufficient clinical evaluation of the safety and effectiveness of herbal medications remain a problem. Selected plants products could be developed as novel therapeutics for HCV patients only after scrupulous evaluation of their safety and efficacy in a clinical set‐up.

Harnessing Nature’s Gifts: Salix nigra and Its Potential for Combating Hepatitis C Virus (HCV)

“…nigra extracts on the expression of NS3 gene of HCV-3a using stable Hep G2 cell lines. Different compounds derived from plants including Honokiol, ECG (Epicatechin gallate), gallic acid, and EGCG (Epigallocatechin gallate) are identified to have anti-HCV activity. Therefore, phytotherapies against antiviral infections are considered an alternate approach to be explored further .…”

“…Different compounds derived from plants including Honokiol, ECG (Epicatechin gallate), gallic acid, and EGCG (Epigallocatechin gallate) are identified to have anti-HCV activity. Therefore, phytotherapies against antiviral infections are considered an alternate approach to be explored further . Natural compounds of medicinal plants have a characteristic low cost of production, high structural diversity, and milder or no side effects than conventional therapies .…”

Inhibitory Potential of Medicinal Plants Against Viral Pathogens and their Putative Modes of Action

“…In the molecular biology, it was revealed that the antiviral properties of P. amarus act on HBV polymerase activity and mRNA transcription by interacting with HBV enhancer I and C/EBP alpha and beta transcription factors (Ott et al, 1997), the ethanolic extract of P. nanus showed its antiviral activity on expression of several genes specifically annexin 7 (Lam et al, 2006). Similarly, the methanolic extracts of Acacia nilotica, Embelia schimperi, Valeriana wallichii, Boswellia carterii, Quercus infectoria, Trachyspermum ammi and aqueous extracts of Piper cubeba, Syzygium aromaticum, and Quercus infectoria also have antihepatitic properties (Ganta et al, 2017;Hussein et al, 2000;Mandal and Hazra, 2023). Some plant derived molecules such as catechin, polysterols, glycyrrhizin, silymarin also showed antihepatitic C activity ( Jassim and Naji, 2003).…”

Silymarin: Unveiling its pharmacological spectrum and therapeutic potential in liver diseases—A comprehensive narrative review

“…Recent research by Mandal and Hazra ( 2023 ) explored the synergistic effects of silymarin when combined with conventional antiviral therapy in patients with hepatitis C. The study demonstrated enhanced virological response rates and improved liver function in the combination group, suggesting a promising avenue for adjunct therapies.…”