F. religiosa L. is endowed with antiviral activity against respiratory syncytial virus and human rhinovirus in vitro. - GreenMedInfo Summary
Ficus religiosa L. bark extracts inhibit Human Rhinovirus and Respiratory Syncytial Virus infection in vitro.
J Ethnopharmacol. 2015 Oct 31. Epub 2015 Oct 31. PMID: 26528588
Valeria Cagno
ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Ficus religiosa L. is one of the most relevant members of the family of Moraceae. It is the most sacred tree of South Asia, and it is used in traditional Ayurvedic and Unani medicine to cure respiratory disorders like cough, wheezing and asthma. Some studies were performed to investigate the anti-asthmatic potential of F. religiosa bark, leaves and fruit extracts but none of them tested their antiviral activity against viruses responsible for the exacerbation of wheezing and asthma.
AIM OF THE STUDY: The present study was undertaken to investigate the antiviral activity of F. religiosa L. extracts against respiratory viruses such as human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and human rhinovirus (HRV).
MATERIALS AND METHODS: The antiviral activity of F. religiosa L. was tested in vitro by plaque reduction and virus yield assays and the major mechanism of action was investigated by virus inactivation and time-of-addition assays.
RESULTS: F. religiosa L. methanol bark extract was the most active against HRV with an EC50 of5.52µg/mL. This extract likely inhibited late steps of replicative cycle. Water bark extract was the most active against RSV with an EC50 between 2.23 and 4.37µg/mL. Partial virus inactivation and interference with virus attachment were both found to contribute to the anti-RSV activity. Replication ofboth viruses was inhibited in viral yield reduction assays.
CONCLUSIONS: The results of the present study demonstrate that F. religiosa L. is endowed with antiviral activity against RSV and HRV in vitro. Further work remains to be done to identify the active components and to assess the therapeutic potential in vivo.