Virucidal and Synergistic Activity of Polyphenol-Rich Extracts of Seaweeds against Measles Virus.

Karla Morán-Santibañez,Abimael Vasquez,Denis Ricque-Marie,Cristina Rodríguez-Padilla,Mario Peña-Hernández,Rachid Skouta,Lucia Cruz-Suárez,Laura Trejo-Avila

doi:10.3390/v10090465

Karla Morán-Santibañez, Abimael Vasquez + Show 6 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/v10090465

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Abstract

Although preventable by vaccination, Measles still causes thousands of deaths among young children worldwide. The discovery of new antivirals is a good approach to control new outbreaks that cause such death. In this study, we tested the antiviral activity against Measles virus (MeV) of Polyphenol-rich extracts (PPs) coming from five seaweeds collected and cultivated in Mexico. An MTT assay was performed to determine cytotoxicity effect, and antiviral activity was measured by syncytia reduction assay and confirmed by qPCR. PPs from Ecklonia arborea (formerly Eisenia arborea, Phaeophyceae) and Solieria filiformis (Rhodophyta) showed the highest Selectivity Index (SI), >3750 and >576.9 respectively. Both PPs extracts were selected to the subsequent experiments owing to their high efficacy and low cytotoxicity compared with ribavirin (SI of 11.57). The combinational effect of PPs with sulphated polysaccharides (SPs) and ribavirin were calculated by using Compusyn software. Synergistic activity was observed by combining both PPs with low concentrations of Solieria filiformis SPs (0.01 µg/mL). The antiviral activity of the best combinations was confirmed by qPCR. Virucidal assay, time of addition, and viral penetration evaluations suggested that PPs act mainly by inactivating the viral particle. To our knowledge, this is the first report of the virucidal effect of Polyphenol-rich extracts of seaweeds.

Highlights

The discovery of antivirals with high efficacy, low cost, and low cytotoxicity is a long-pursued goal in drug discovery
Results indicated no relevant cytotoxicity for any of the Polyphenol-rich extracts (PPs) tested; CC50 could not be determined for most PPs because of the lack of cytotoxicity at tested concentrations (0.1 to 1500 μg/mL)
Antiviral activity of PPs and ribavirin against Measles virus (MeV) was evaluated by syncytia reduction assays at different concentrations (0.01, 0.1, 1, and 5 μg/mL of each PPs and 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 μg/mL of ribavirin)

Summary

Introduction

The discovery of antivirals with high efficacy, low cost, and low cytotoxicity is a long-pursued goal in drug discovery. Screening assays of the antiviral activity of extracts from seaweeds have demonstrated the antiviral potency of chemical compounds present in these organisms [2]. Polyphenols are produced by most plants, including seaweeds, where they act as antioxidants that protect from external conditions such. Some of the compounds found in seaweeds with the best antiviral activity are sulphated polysaccharides and phenolic compounds [4]. The antiviral activity of polyphenols has been observed mainly against enveloped viruses such as Retrovirus, Influenza Virus, Papilloma Virus, Herpes virus, and flaviviruses [5,6,7,8,9]. The Measles virus (MeV) is an enveloped virus that has regained importance as a pathogen as a result of the several recent outbreaks that have occurred in developed countries [10]. Despite the availability of a vaccine, this illness has not been eradicated; the use of an effective antiviral as a therapy could contribute to outbreak containment and lead to eradication

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