title: Medicinal plants against hepatitis C virus.
abstract: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a global health concern which is responsible for most of the liver diseases. Currently, there is no vaccine available for prevention of HCV infection due to the high degree of strain variation. The current standard of care is a combination of pegylated interferon α with ribavirin and boceprevir/telaprevir. This treatment was partially effective and had significant side effects. Hence, there is a need to develop new antiviral agents that interfere with different stages of the HCV life cycle. Recent advances in the understanding of both the cellular and molecular mechanisms of HCV replication have provided the basis for novel therapeutic strategies. Several hundred plant species and their phyto-constituents have been isolated for screening against HCV, and some have been shown to have great medicinal value in preventing and/or ameliorating viral diseases in pre-clinical and clinical trials. This review summarizes medicinal plants and their phytochemicals which inhibit different stages of HCV life cycle and discuss their potential use in HCV therapy.
authors.affiliation: Usman A Ashfaq, Sobia Idrees, Department of Bioinformatics and Biotechnology, Government College University, Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Usman A
authors.initials: UA
authors.lastname: Ashfaq
authors.affiliation: Usman A Ashfaq, Sobia Idrees, Department of Bioinformatics and Biotechnology, Government College University, Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Sobia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Idrees
mesh_terms: D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000187:drug effects; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008517:Phytotherapy; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010946:Plants, Medicinal; D014758:Viral Core Proteins / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D017361:Viral Nonstructural Proteins / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D012697:Serine Endopeptidases; D043583:Nucleoside-Triphosphatase; D053487:DEAD-box RNA Helicases; D000085242:Viral Proteases
chemical_list: D010936:Plant Extracts; D014758:Viral Core Proteins; D017361:Viral Nonstructural Proteins; C084422:NS3 protein, hepatitis C virus; D012697:Serine Endopeptidases; D043583:Nucleoside-Triphosphatase; D053487:DEAD-box RNA Helicases; D000085242:Viral Proteases; C069130:nucleocapsid protein, Hepatitis C virus
keywords: Anti-hepatitis C virus drugs; Hepatitis C virus; Medicinal plants