title: Antiviral natural products and herbal medicines.
abstract: Viral infections play an important role in human diseases, and recent outbreaks in the advent of globalization and ease of travel have underscored their prevention as a critical issue in safeguarding public health. Despite the progress made in immunization and drug development, many viruses lack preventive vaccines and efficient antiviral therapies, which are often beset by the generation of viral escape mutants. Thus, identifying novel antiviral drugs is of critical importance and natural products are an excellent source for such discoveries. In this mini-review, we summarize the antiviral effects reported for several natural products and herbal medicines.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Liang-Tzung
authors.initials: LT
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Wen-Chan
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Hsu
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chun-Ching
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Lin
keywords: Antiviral; Drug development; Herbal medicines; Natural products