Antiviral activity of Aloe vera against herpes simplex virus type 2: An in vitro study

In this study we tested the antiviral activity of a crude hot glycerine extract of Aloe vera gel which was grown in Bushehr (Southwest of Iran) against HSV-2 replication in Vero cell line. The extract showed antiviral activity against HSV-2 not only before attachment and entry of virus to the Vero cells but also on post attachment stages of virus replication. The IC50 before attachment and entry of virus to the cells is 428 µg/ml and the CC50 value which is the cytotoxicity of the extract for Vero cells is 3238 µg/ml, while the calculated selectivity index (SI) is 7.56. Also, IC50 of extract on post attachment stages of replication is 536 µg/ml and the SI value for inhibition of the post attachment stages of HSV-2 replication is 6.04. Therefore, compounds of Aloe vera from Bushehr could be a good candidate as a natural source for antiviral drug development against HSV-2.