Abstract
Rift valley fever virus (RVFV) is a mosquito-borne virus endemic to sub-Saharan African countries, and the first sporadic outbreaks outside Africa were reported in the Asia-Pacific region. There are no approved therapeutic agents available for RVFV; however, finding an effective antiviral agent against RVFV is important. This study aimed to evaluate the antiviral, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity of medicinal plant extracts. Twenty medicinal plants were screened for their anti-RVFV activity using the cytopathic effect (CPE) reduction method. The cytotoxicity assessment of the extracts was done before antiviral screening using the MTT assay. Antioxidant and reactive oxygen/nitrogen species’ (ROS/RNS) inhibitory activity by the extracts was investigated using non-cell-based and cell-based assays. Out of twenty plant extracts tested, eight showed significant potency against RVFV indicated by a decrease in tissue culture infectious dose (TCID50) < 105. The cytotoxicity of extracts showed inhibitory concentrations values (IC50) > 200 µg/mL for most of the extracts. The antioxidant activity and anti-inflammatory results revealed that extracts scavenged free radicals exhibiting an IC50 range of 4.12–20.41 µg/mL and suppressed the production of pro-inflammatory mediators by 60–80% in Vero cells. This study demonstrated the ability of the extracts to lower RVFV viral load and their potency to reduce free radicals.
Highlights
Rift valley fever virus (RVFV) is an arthropod-borne virus, which belongs to the genusPhlebovirus under the family of Phenuiviridae that is characterized by a negative-single-stranded segmented tripartite RNA genome [1]
The lethal concentration that reduced cell viability by 50% (LC50 ) were recorded (Table 2) and the concentration that maintained 90% of Vero cell viability was defined as the maximum non-cytotoxic concentration (MNTC), which were tested for antiviral activity
The lethal concentrations that inhibited 50% of the cell viability (LC50 ) were recorded, and the concentrations that maintained 80–90% of Vero cell viability were defined as the maximal non-cytotoxic concentrations (MNTC), which were tested for antiviral activity
Summary
Rift valley fever virus (RVFV) is an arthropod-borne virus, which belongs to the genusPhlebovirus under the family of Phenuiviridae (formerly: Bunyaviridae) that is characterized by a negative-single-stranded segmented tripartite RNA genome [1]. The virus has emerged as one of the important etiological agents for an acute and self-limiting febrile illness and severe manifestations, which include hemorrhagic fever, retinitis, renal failure, encephalitis and miscarriages, in both humans and animals [3,4]. Since it affects livestock such as sheep, goats and camels, it has been reported to have a significant economic impact on meat and dairy industries with approximately 32 million USD loss due to livestock death in Kenya in the year 2007
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