Substantial effect of phytochemical constituents against the pandemic disease influenza—a review

Abstract

Background Influenza is an acute respiratory tract infection caused by the influenza virus. Vaccination and antiviral drugs are the two methods opted to control the disease. Besides their efficiency, they also cause adverse side effects. Hence, scientists turned their attention to powerful herbal medicines. This review put focus on various proven, scientifically validated anti-influenza compounds produced by the plants suggested for the production of newer drugs for the better treatment of influenza and its related antiviral diseases too. Main body In this review, fifty medicinal herb phytochemical constituents and their anti-influenza activities have been documented. Specifically, this review brings out the accurate and substantiates mechanisms of action of these constituents. This study categorizes the phytochemical constituents into primary and secondary metabolites which provide a source for synthesizing and developing new drugs. Conclusion This article provides a summary of the actions of the herbal constituents. Since the mechanisms of action of the components are elucidated, the pandemic situation arising due to influenza and similar antiviral diseases can be handled promisingly with greater efficiency. However, clinical trials are in great demand. The formulation of usage may be a single drug compound or multi-herbal combination. These, in turn, open up a new arena for the pharmaceutical industries to develop innovative drugs.

Unveiling the Potent Antiviral and Antioxidant Activities of an Aqueous Extract from Caesalpinia mimosoides Lamk: Cheminformatics and Molecular Docking Approaches

“…Molecular docking was implemented to explain mechanisms underlying the antiviral activity of the C. mimosoides aqueous extract. As mentioned, hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) play a significant role in the process of viral entry and release of influenza viruses [ 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 60 ]. They have thus been promising candidates for developing targeted inhibitors to block critical steps of the viral cycle [ 60 ].…”

“…Ellagic acid (2), the dimeric structure of GA (1), present as a major compound in the aqueous extract of Lagerstroemia speciosa, was able to inhibit replication of human rhinovirus-4 (HRV-4) in HeLa cells [14]. Polyphenols derived from Aronia melanocarpa, such as isoquercetin, kaempferol, ferulic acid, caffeic acid, ellagic acid, and myricetin, have also been shown to have promising anti-influenza activities, with the latter two examples improving the survival rate of mice infected with the rPR8-GFP virus [15][16][17]. Although polyphenols are widely distributed in various plant families, the plant origin and the technological approaches restrict the large-scale production for antiviral applications, including recovery, extraction, and purification [18][19][20].…”

Review of Medicinal Plants and Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients against Aquatic Pathogenic Viruses

“…Medicinal plants contain numerous active ingredients such as phenolic substances, flavonoids, alkaloids, terpenoids, pigments, starch, steroids, and essential oils [191]. In aquaculture, medicinal plants and active ingredients can be used as growth promoters [192], immunostimulants [193], antibacterial agents [194], antifungal agents [195], antistress agents [196], appetite stimulants [197], and even aphrodisiacs [198], in addition to being antiviral agents.…”

Efficacy of the commercial plant products acting against influenza-a review

“…Indeed, 25% of general medicine contains compounds that are isolated from plants [ 31 ]. The anti-influenza activities of the phytochemical constituents of the plants have also been documented [ 32 ]. Modern pharmaceutical companies keep an eye on these natural phytochemicals, plant extract active against influenza strains [ 33 ], and practicing the effort to produce commercial products.…”