Antiviral activity of Quercus persica L.: High efficacy and low toxicity

Drug-resistant strain of Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-I) has increased the interest in the use of natural substances.

This study was aimed to determine minimum inhibitory concentration of hydroalchoholic extract of a traditionally used herbal plant, Quercus persica L., on HSV-1 replication on baby hamster kidney (BHK) cells.

The study was conducted in Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, Iran.

This was an experimental study.

BHK cells were grown in monolayer culture with Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium (DMEM) supplemented with 5% fetal calf serum and plated onto 48-well culture plates. Fifty percent cytotoxic concentration (CC50%) of Q. persica L. on BHK cells was determined. Subsequently, 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50%) of the extract on replication of HSV-1 both in interacellular and exteracellular cases was assessed.

Statistic Probit model was used for statistical analysis. The dose-dependent effect of antiviral activity of the extracts was determined by linear regression.

Q. persica L. had no cytotoxic effect on this cell line. There was significant relationship between the concentration of the extract and cell death (P<0.01). IC50s of Q. persica L. on HSV-1, before and after attachment to BHK cells were 1.02 and 0.257 μg/mL, respectively. There was significant relationship between the concentration of this extract and inhibition of cytopathic effect (CPE) (P<0.05). Antioxidant capacity of the extract was 67.5%.

The hydroalchoholic extract of Q. persica L. is potentially an appropriate and promising anti herpetic herbal medicine.