Antiviral activity of Undaria pinnatifida against herpes simplex virus.
The major component of an aqueous extract of the seaweed Undaria pinnati fi da has been identified previously as a galactofucan (GFS), a sulfated polysaccharide. The galactofucan was partially purified and the material tested in this study is 75% pure galactofucan sulfate. GFS was evaluated for antiviral activity against 32 clinical strains of herpes simplex virus (HSV): 14 strains of HSV-1 and 18 strains of HSV-2. Twelve strains (four HSV-1 and eight HSV-2) were resistant to acyclovir (ACV-R) and 20 strains (10 HSV-1 and 10 HSV-2) were susceptible to ACV (ACV-S). The median IC(50) of GFS for the 14 strains of HSV-1 was 32 micro g/mL. The median IC(50) of GFS for the 18 strains of HSV-2 was 0.5 micro g/mL. GFS is significantly more active against clinical strains of HSV-2 than HSV-1, p < 0.001. The mode of action of the GFS was shown to be the inhibition of viral binding and entry into the host cell. The cytotoxicity of GFS was >4.0 mg/mL in the neutral red dye uptake assay indicating that GFS is non-toxic in this assay.
Department of Pathology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA. thompson@midway.uchicago.edu
Kenneth D
KD
Thompson
Charles
C
Dragar
D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D018259:Herpesvirus 1, Human / Q000187:drug effects; D018258:Herpesvirus 2, Human / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D020128:Inhibitory Concentration 50; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D008517:Phytotherapy; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D044648:Undaria
D000998:Antiviral Agents; D010936:Plant Extracts