Volume 24, Issue 105, September - October, 2020

In vitro antiviral activity of Illicium verum and Zingiber officinale ethanolic extracts

Rami S. Habeballa^1,2♦, Elsamoual Ibrahim Ahmedani^1,2, Nabil S. Awad^3,4, Mohamed A. Abdein⁵

¹Department of Basic Health Sciences, faculty of pharmacy, Northern Border University, Rafha, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
²Department of Molecular Biology, Commission for Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, National Centre for research, Sudan
³Department of Genetics, Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Aswan University, Aswan, Egypt
⁴College of Biotechnology, Misr University for Science and Technology, Giza, Egypt
⁵Biology Department, Faculty of Arts and Science, Northern Border University, Rafha, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

^♦Corresponding author
Department of Basic Health Sciences, faculty of pharmacy, Northern Border University, Rafha, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Email:ramialsir@yahoo.com, ramialsir@gmail.com, Mobile+966 544759869

ABSTRACT

The emergence of viral isolates resistant to viral drugs confirmed the need to constantly discover new and effective antiviral drugs. Medicinal plants represent a safe and renewable source for antiviral drug development which used instead of the chemically synthesized drugs that characterised by many other side effects,.The present study aimed to investigate the antiviral role of Illicium verum and Zingiber officinale ethanolic extracts against A and B influenza virus. The tested plant extracts revealed minimal cytotoxic effect using MTT assay. The obtained results exhibited antiviral effect of both tested plant extracts. This effect was investigated by quantification of viral mRNA and inhibition of neuraminidase (NA) and haemagglutinin (HA) at molecular and biochemical levels. The antiviral effect of Illicium verum was higher than Zingiber officinale. The response of viral infected cells to plant extract treatments was detected through down regulation of inflammatory CXCL1 and Jun genes in comparison with positive control and clarithromycin antiviral drug. These results demonstrated that, the tested plants can be utilized as a safe new source for developing anti-influenza treatment with further detailed studies.

Keywords: Illicium verum, Zingiber officinale, antiviral activity, Influenza Virus, MTT cytotoxicity assay

Medical Science, 2020, 24(105), 3469-3480

PDF