Evaluation of Antiviral Activities of Curcumin Derivatives against HSV-1 in Vero Cell Line

Abstract

Antiviral drug resistance is one of the most common problems in medicine, and, therefore, finding new antiviral agents, especially from natural resources, seems to be necessary. This study was designed to assay the antiviral activity of curcumin and its new derivatives like gallium-curcumin and Cu-curcumin on replication of HSV-1 in cell culture. The research was performed as an in vitro study in which the antiviral activity of different concentrations of three substances including curcumin, Gallium-curcumin and Cu-curcumin were tested on HSV-1. The cytotoxicity of the tested compounds was also evaluated on the Vero cell line. The CC 50 values for curcumin, gallium-curcumin and Cu-curcumin were 484.2 µg/mL, 255.8 µg/mL and 326.6 µg/mL, respectively, and the respective IC 50 values 33.0 µg/mL, 13.9 µg/mL and 23.1 µg/mL. The calculated SI values were 14.6, 18.4 and 14.1, respectively. The results showed that curcumin and its new derivatives have remarkable antiviral effects on HSV-1 in cell culture.

A Review on Antibacterial, Antiviral, and Antifungal Activity of Curcumin

“…The 50% cytotoxic concentration (CC 50 ) of the respective compounds on Vero cell line showed to be 484.2  μ g/mL, 255.8  μ g/mL, and 326.6  μ g/mL, respectively [31]. Curcumin considerably decreased the immediate early (IE) gene expression and infectivity of HSV-1 in cell culture assays.…”

Discovery of curcumin, a component of golden spice, and its miraculous biological activities

“…In another study, curcumin was shown to improve the activity of common azole and polyene anti-fungals (65). In some cell culture systems, curcumin has been shown to possess anti-viral activities (63, 64). Other common activities of curcumin as demonstrated in in vitro cell culture models are wound healing in skin fibroblasts (66), anti-nociceptive activity in ganglion neurons (67), anti-parasitic activity against African trypanosomes (68), schistosomicidal activity against Schistosoma mansoni adult worms (69), anti-malarial activity (70), and nematocidal activity (71).…”

Breaking Down the Barriers to a Natural Antiviral Agent: Antiviral Activity and Molecular Docking of Erythrina speciosa Extract, Fractions, and the Major Compound

“…Treating viral infections is usually a challenging task because viruses are capable of continuous evolution producing drug‐resistant mutants which renders antiviral drugs as ineffective. Although there are recent significant advances in immunization and drug discovery of antiviral drugs, many viruses still lack effective vaccines and antiviral remedies . Thus, the discovery of novel antivirals drugs with high efficacy is highly recommended …”