Aloe Polysaccharides Inhibit Influenza A Virus Infection-A Promising Natural Anti-flu Drug.

Tingting Zhang,Jiguo Zhang,Guangfu Yu,Cuilian Yu,Zhenhong Sun,Wei Wang,Kai Wei,Lin Zhang

doi:10.3389/fmicb.2018.02338

Abstract

Influenza A virus causes periodic outbreaks and seriously threatens human health. The drug-resistant mutants have shown an epidemic trend because of the abuse of chemical drugs. Aloe polysaccharides (APS) extracted from Aloe vera leaves have evident effects on the therapy of virus infection. However, the activity of APS in anti-influenza virus has yet to be investigated. Here, we refined polysaccharides from A. vera leaf. In vitro test revealed that APS could inhibit the replication of a H1N1 subtype influenza virus, and the most obvious inhibitory effect was observed in the viral adsorption period. Transmission electron microscopy indicated that APS directly interacted with influenza virus particles. Experiments on PR8 (H1N1) virus infection in mice demonstrated that APS considerably ameliorated the clinical symptoms and the lung damage of the infected mice, and significantly reduced the virus loads and mortality. Our findings provided a theoretical basis for the development of novel natural anti-influenza agents.

Highlights

Influenza A virus (IAV) causes acute respiratory distress syndrome, annual epidemics, and occasional pandemics, which have claimed the lives of millions of individuals
The Molecular Weight (Mw) and monosaccharide composition of Aloe polysaccharides (APS) were determined by gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and HPLC methods, respectively
The mice treated with 40 mg/day APS had mild lesions in the lungs, which even resembled the lungs of the control group (Figure 5E). These results indicated that APS largely alleviated the clinical symptoms and pulmonary lesions induced by influenza virus infection

Summary

Introduction

Influenza A virus (IAV) causes acute respiratory distress syndrome, annual epidemics, and occasional pandemics, which have claimed the lives of millions of individuals. Pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza virus infection continuously threatens poultry and human health (Ly et al, 2017). Some novel recombinant viruses, such as H7N9 and H5NX viruses, have emerged and affected human health (Pan et al, 2016; Taubenberger and Morens, 2017). These results highlight the limitations of preventive and therapeutic measures against the influenza virus. Vaccines and antiviral drugs are available for the control of influenza virus infections. The global community is probably not well prepared for the influenza pandemic because viruses have acquired resistance to currently available antiviral drugs.

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