title: Antiviral Activities of Honey, Royal Jelly, and Acyclovir Against HSV-1.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) belongs to the Herpesviridae family and genus simplex virus. This virus is usually acquired during childhood and is transmitted through direct mucocutaneous contact or droplet infection from infected secretions. The aim of the present study was to compare antiviral effects of honey, royal jelly, and acyclovir on herpes simplex virus-1 in an extra-somatic environment.
  
  
  METHODS
  Vero cells were cultured in the Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's Medium (DMEM) along with 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS) in 12-welled microplates. Various dilutions of honey, royal jelly, and acyclovir (5, 10, 50, 100, 2500, 500, and 800 μg/mL) were added to the Vero cells along with a 100-virus concentration of TCID50. The plaque assay technique was used to evaluate the antiviral activities.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results showed that honey, royal jelly, and acyclovir have the highest inhibitory effects on HSV-1 at concentrations of 500, 250, and 100 μg/mL, respectively. In addition, honey, royal jelly, and acyclovir decreased the viral load from 70 795 to 43.3, 30, and 0 PFU/mL at a concentration of 100 μg/mL, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of the present study showed that honey and royal jelly, which are natural products with no reports about their deleterious effect at least in laboratory conditions, can be considered alternatives to acyclovir in the treatment of herpetic lesions. However, it should be pointed out that further studies are necessary to substantiate their efficacy because hard evidence on their effectiveness is not available at present.
authors: Kerman Social Determinants on Oral Health Research Center, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman,Iran; email: m_s_hashemipour@yahoo.com.
authors: Maryam Alsadat
authors: MA
authors: Hashemipour
authors: Kerman Social Determinants on Oral Health Research Center, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.
authors: Zahra
authors: Z
authors: Tavakolineghad
authors: Department of Medical Microbiology, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.
authors: Sayed Ali Mohammad
authors: SA
authors: Arabzadeh
authors: Department of Medical Microbiology, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.
authors: Zahra
authors: Z
authors: Iranmanesh
authors: Kerman Oral and Dental Diseases Research Center, School of Medicine, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.
authors: Sayed Amir Hossein Gandjalikhan
authors: SA
authors: Nassab