title: Antiviral activity of some Tunisian medicinal plants against Herpes simplex virus type 1.
abstract: Fifteen species of Tunisian traditional medicinal plants, belonging to 10 families, were selected for this study. They were Inula viscosa (L.) Ait and Reichardia tingitana (L.) Roth ssp. discolor (Pom.) Batt. (Asteraceae), Mesembryanthemum cristallinum L. and M. nodiflorum L. (Aizoaceae), Arthrocnemum indicum (Willd.) Moq., Atriplex inflata Muell., A. parvifolia Lowe var. ifiniensis (Caball) Maire, and Salicornia fruticosa L. (Chenopodiaceae), Cistus monspeliensis L. (Cistaceae), Juniperus phoenicea L. (Cupressaceae), Erica multiflora L. (Ericaceae), Frankenia pulverulenta L. (Frankeniaceae), Hypericum crispum L. (Hypericaceae), Plantago coronopus L. ssp. eu-coronopus Pilger var. vulgaris G.G. (Plantaginaceae) and Zygophyllum album L. (Zygophyllaceae). Fifty extracts prepared from those plants were screened in order to assay their antiviral activity against Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), using neutral red incorporation. Extracts from eight plants among these 15 showed some degree of antiviral activity, while the methanolic extract of E. multiflora was highly active with EC(50) of 132.6 microg mL(-1). These results corroborate that medicinal plants from Tunisia can be a rich source of potential antiviral compounds.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire des Maladies Transmissibles et Substances Biologiquement Actives, Faculte de Pharmacie, rue Avicenne, Monastir, Tunisia. ahlem_ben_sassi@yahoo.fr
authors.forename: A Ben
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Sassi
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Harzallah-Skhiri
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bourgougnon
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Aouni
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002522:Chlorocebus aethiops; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D018259:Herpesvirus 1, Human / Q000187:drug effects*; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010946:Plants, Medicinal / Q000737:chemistry*; D014416:Tunisia; D014709:Vero Cells
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D010936:Plant Extracts