Glycyrrhizin, an active component of liquorice roots, and replication of SARS-associated coronavirus.
The outbreak of SARS warrants the search for antiviral compounds to treat the disease. At present, no specific treatment has been identified for SARS-associated coronavirus infection. We assessed the antiviral potential of ribavirin, 6-azauridine, pyrazofurin, mycophenolic acid, and glycyrrhizin against two clinical isolates of coronavirus (FFM-1 and FFM-2) from patients with SARS admitted to the clinical centre of Frankfurt University, Germany. Of all the compounds, glycyrrhizin was the most active in inhibiting replication of the SARS-associated virus. Our findings suggest that glycyrrhizin should be assessed for treatment of SARS.
Cinatl
J
J
Institute of Medical Virology, Frankfurt University Medical School, Paul-Ehrlich Str 40, D-60596, Frankfurt, Germany. cinatl@em.uni-frankfurt.de
Morgenstern
B
B
Bauer
G
G
Chandra
P
P
Rabenau
H
H
Doerr
H W
HW
D000818:Animals; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002522:Chlorocebus aethiops; D017934:Coronavirus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D006035:Glycyrrhiza / Q000737:chemistry*; D019695:Glycyrrhizic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D045169:Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome / Q000188:drug therapy; D014709:Vero Cells; D014779:Virus Replication / Q000187:drug effects*
D000998:Antiviral Agents; D019695:Glycyrrhizic Acid