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Antiviral activities of Nepalese medicinal plants
| Publication Type | Journal Article |
| Year of Publication | 1996 |
| Authors | Taylor, R, S. L.; Manandhar, N, P.; Hudson, J, B.; Towers, G, H. N. |
| Journal Title | Journal of Ethnopharmacology |
| Volume | 52 |
| Pagination | 157-163 |
| ISBN Number | 0378-8741 |
| Key Words | antiviral plants; screening; light; ultraviolet radiation; cytotoxicity; medicinal properties; plant extracts; antiviral; properties; medicinal plants; ethnobotany; Clusiaceae; Lygodiaceae; Myrsinaceae; Maesa; Hypericum; monkeys; Lygodium japonicum; herpe |
| Abstract | In a screening of plants used traditionally in Nepal to treat diseases that could be caused by viruses (e.g. coughs and fevers), methanol extracts from 21 species were assayed for activity against 3 mammalian viruses: herpes simplex virus, Sindbis virus and poliovirus. Assays were performed in UV-A or visible light, as well as in the dark. Cytotoxicity against the cell line used (Vero, an African green monkey kidney cell line) was assessed, and antiviral activity determined as absence of viral cytopathic effects at a non-cytotoxic concentration of the extract. Hypericum cordifolium, H. uralum, Lygodium japonicum and Maesa macrophylla exhibited impressive antiviral activities, although their selective effects on the 3 viruses suggested that the antiviral ingredients were different in each extract. In addition, many of the other extracts showed partial inactivation of one or more of the test viruses. |
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