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Inhibition of HSV‐2 infection by pure compounds from Thymus capitatus extract in vitro
Author(s) -
Toujani Marwa Mekni,
Rittà Massimo,
Civra Andrea,
Genovese Salvatore,
Epifano Francesco,
Ghram Abdeljelil,
Lembo David,
Donalisio Manuela
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
phytotherapy research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.019
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1099-1573
pISSN - 0951-418X
DOI - 10.1002/ptr.6084
Subject(s) - infectivity , carvacrol , antimicrobial , cinnamaldehyde , in vitro , virus , herpes simplex virus , essential oil , microbiology and biotechnology , biology , mode of action , ec50 , ic50 , chemistry , biochemistry , food science , virology , catalysis
Thymus capitatus represents 1 of the 5 Tunisian species of the genus Thymus , which has long‐standing use for flavouring and preserving several food products. Its constituents have been reported to endow antimicrobial properties, but little is known about their antiviral activities. The aim of this study was to examine the antiviral activity of pure compounds from the most bioactive inhibitory T. capitatus extract in vitro against herpes simplex virus Type 2 (HSV‐2) infection and to identify their mechanism of action. Either the extracts or the essential oil exert inhibitory activity against HSV‐2 infection, with the ethanolic extract showing the lowest EC 50 value (2.3 μg/ml). Three pure compounds were then isolated from the ethanolic extract and investigated for their antiviral activity. β‐sitosterol showed the most favourable selectivity index and both cinnamaldehyde and carvacrol exerted moderate antiviral effect. Investigation of the mechanism of action revealed that all three compounds directly inactivated the infectivity of the virus particles. These findings suggest the use of T. capitatus ethanolic extract as source of anti‐HSV‐2 pure compounds and warrant further studies to evaluate their therapeutic potential.