Studies on Antiviral and Antitumor Antibiotics

Abstract

A screening for antiviral antibiotics was carried out using paper-disc agar-diffusion method. The microorganisms tested were unidentified soil fungi and the type cultures of our laboratory including actinomycetes, fungi, yeasts and bacteria. Mycelia or cells were extracted with acetone and the antiviral activity of the acetone extracts was determined. The extracts of actinomycetes mycelia showed the highest frequency of the appearance of antiviral activity against Newcastle disease virus. The frequencies of the appearance of antiviral activity in fungal and bacterial type cultures were the same degree and that of yeasts was low. Antiviral activity of the principles thus obtained was studied by microscopic observation in tube cultures using HeLa cells as a host.