Plant-Based Natural Products and Extracts: Potential Source to Develop New Antiviral Drug Candidates

Abstract

Viral infections are among the most complex medical problems and have been a major threat to the economy and global health. Several epidemics and pandemics have occurred due to viruses, which has led to a significant increase in mortality and morbidity rates. Natural products have always been an inspiration and source for new drug development because of their various uses. Among all-natural sources, plant sources are the most dominant for the discovery of new therapeutic agents due to their chemical and structural diversity. Despite the traditional use and potential source for drug development, natural products have gained little attention from large pharmaceutical industries. Several plant extracts and isolated compounds have been extensively studied and explored for antiviral properties against different strains of viruses. In this review, we have compiled antiviral plant extracts and natural products isolated from plants reported since 2015.

Herb-Synthesized Antiviral NanoparticlesHerb-Synthesized Antiviral Nanoparticles

“…Herbal bioactive compounds due to their high chemical-diversity and biochemical-specificity have been extensively studied for their therapeutic potential against different diseases. Of these, various herbal formulations and isolated compounds belonging to different classes such as flavonoids, alkaloids, tannins, saponins, lignans, coumarins, polyphenols, glycosides, and terpenoids have been widely reported for their antiviral efficacies against several pathogenic viruses [15][16][17].…”

In Vitro Anti-Epstein Barr Virus Activity of Olea europaea L. Leaf Extracts

“…As recently reported, viruses are responsible for several human diseases and novel phytochemicals interact with the viral life cycle, viral entry, replication, assembly, and release [10][11][12][13]. Therefore, natural products are promising candidates for broad application.…”

Andrographolide and Deoxyandrographolide Inhibit Protease and IFN-Antagonist Activities of Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus 3Cpro

“…Currently, plant-derived antiviral agents are widely used because natural products are cheap and available in the local areas. Some plants have low toxicity and can prevent microbial infections [ 9 ]. Recently, more evidence has shown that plant-based products could be an alternative therapeutic agent for combating some viral infection by accelerating the disease recovery period or protecting animals during the time lag between vaccination and immunity [ 10 ].…”