Abstract
Influenza viruses are a serious threat to human health, causing numerous deaths and pandemics worldwide. To date, neuraminidase (NA) inhibitors have primarily been used to treat influenza. However, there is a growing need for novel NA inhibitors owing to the emergence of resistant viruses. Geranii Herba (Geranium thunbergii Siebold et Zuccarini), which is edible, has long been used in a variety of disease treatments in Asia. Although recent studies have reported its various pharmacological activities, the effect of Geranii Herba and its components on influenza viruses has not yet been reported. In this study, Geranii Herba ethanol extract (GHE) and its component geraniin showed high antiviral activity against influenza A strain as well as influenza B strain, against which oseltamivir has less efficacy than influenza A strain, by inhibiting NA activity following viral infection in Madin–Darby canine kidney cells. Thus, GHE and its components may be useful for the development of anti-influenza drugs.
Highlights
Influenza is one of the greatest threats to human health, causing numerous deaths and sporadic pandemics worldwide[1]
Several studies have reported on the antiviral activities of geraniin (GN), the main component of Geranii Herba, against herpes simplex virus (HSV), human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1), dengue virus type 2 (DENV2), and human enterovirus 71 (E71), no studies have reported on the antiviral effects of Geranii Herba for the treatment of influenza virus infections[30,31,32,33]
This study investigated the potential effects of Geranii Herba ethanol extract (GHE) on influenza virus NA activity
Summary
Influenza is one of the greatest threats to human health, causing numerous deaths and sporadic pandemics worldwide[1]. The M2 ion channel blockers block the passage of hydrogen ions to the virions in endosomes, thereby preventing the transcriptionally active viral ribonucleoprotein complex from being released into the cytoplasm[5] These are seldom used in clinical medicine because many influenza viruses, including H3N2 and H5N1, are resistant to amantadine and rimantadine[3,8,9]. NA inhibitors play an important role in preventing the spread of influenza infection by inhibiting the enzymatic function of NA, the surface glycoprotein of influenza virus, via attachment to its active site[11] This active site of NA is a good target for the development of anti-influenza drugs as it is highly conserved among both influenza A and B viruses[10,14,15]. Several studies have reported on the antiviral activities of geraniin (GN), the main component of Geranii Herba, against herpes simplex virus (HSV), human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1), dengue virus type 2 (DENV2), and human enterovirus 71 (E71), no studies have reported on the antiviral effects of Geranii Herba for the treatment of influenza virus infections[30,31,32,33]
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