Abstract
An influenza virus epidemic is an important issue in public hygiene, and continuous development on an effective drug is required. Kampo medicine is a traditional medicine that is used clinically for treatment of various diseases in Japan and other East Asian countries. We evaluated the effects of the Kampo drugs maoto, kakkonto, senkyuchachosan, jinkokato, and bakumondoto, which are prescribed for treatment of respiratory symptoms including symptoms caused by influenza, on influenza virus replication in cultured cells. Culture media of influenza virus-infected MDCK(+) cells were tested for hemagglutination and infectivity at 24 h after the addition of Kampo drugs at various concentrations, and four of the five Kampo drugs were found to inhibit virus release to the culture media. These drugs inactivated virus infectivity not by acting on virus particles but by acting on virus-infected cells. In addition, when six crude drugs (Atractylodis lanceae rhizome, Citri unshiu pericarpium, Cnidii rhizome, Glycyrrhizae radix, Rehmanniae radix, and Saposhnikoviae radix) that constitute the effective Kampo drugs were examined, the strongest activity was found for Glycyrrhizae radix (IC50 = 0.27 mg/ml), which selectively suppressed viral protein synthesis. Since Glycyrrhizae radix is contained in many Kampo drugs, it may give anti-influenza virus activity to a broad range of Kampo drugs.
Highlights
Influenza viruses, which belong to the family Orthomyxoviridae, are enveloped viruses with segmented, singlestranded, negative-sense RNA genomes [1]
Indications are given for each Kampo drug, and the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare has approved the use of Kampo drugs
We compared the effects of the Kampo drugs maoto, kakkonto, senkyuchachosan, jinkokato, and bakumondoto, which are prescribed for respiratory symptoms including symptoms caused by influenza and common cold, on influenza virus replication in vitro
Summary
Influenza viruses, which belong to the family Orthomyxoviridae, are enveloped viruses with segmented, singlestranded, negative-sense RNA genomes [1]. A new type of influenza virus may emerge and cause a pandemic. Several antiviral drugs including neuraminidase inhibitors have been developed for treatment of influenza. E development of new anti-influenza drugs and the establishment of novel therapeutic measures are needed. Reports on the effects of other Kampo drugs on virus replication in vitro are limited. We compared the effects of the Kampo drugs maoto, kakkonto, senkyuchachosan, jinkokato, and bakumondoto, which are prescribed for respiratory symptoms including symptoms caused by influenza and common cold, on influenza virus replication in vitro. A similar study was carried out on the crude drugs included in these Kampo drugs, and strong activity of Glycyrrhizae radix was found
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