Doratoxylon apetalum, an Indigenous Medicinal Plant from Mascarene Islands, Is a Potent Inhibitor of Zika and Dengue Virus Infection in Human Cells

• Published in: International journal of molecular sciences Vol. 20; no. 10; p. 2382
• Main Authors: Haddad, Juliano G, Koishi, Andrea Cristine, Gaudry, Arnaud, Nunes Duarte Dos Santos, Claudia, Viranaicken, Wildriss, Desprès, Philippe, El Kalamouni, Chaker
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 14-05-2019; MDPI
• Subjects: Antiviral activity; Cell lines; Chemical Sciences; Clinical isolates; Congenital defects; Cytotoxicity; Dengue fever; dengue virus; Disease transmission; Doratoxylon apetalum; Epidemics; Flow cytometry; Herbal medicine; Infections; Infectivity; Life Sciences; Medicinal Chemistry; medicinal plant; Microbiology and Parasitology; Neurological diseases; nutraceuticals; Phytochemicals; Plant extracts; polyphenol; Polyphenols; Progeny; Public health; Serotypes; Titration; Virology; Zika virus; Mascarene Islands; Doratoxylon apetalum; nutraceuticals; dengue virus; Zika virus; medicinal plant; antiviral activity; polyphenol
• ISSN: 1422-0067; 1661-6596; 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms20102382

Zika virus (ZIKV) and Dengue virus (DENV) are mosquito-borne viruses of the
genus that could cause congenital microcephaly and hemorrhage, respectively, in humans, and thus present a risk to global public health. A preventive vaccine against ZIKV remains unavailable, and no specific antiviral drugs against ZIKV and DENV are licensed. Medicinal plants may be a source of natural antiviral drugs which mostly target viral entry. In this study, we evaluate the antiviral activity of
, an indigenous medicinal plant from the Mascarene Islands, against ZIKV and DENV infection. Our data indicated that
exhibited potent antiviral activity against a contemporary epidemic strain of ZIKV and clinical isolates of four DENV serotypes at non-cytotoxic concentrations in human cells. Time-of-drug-addition assays revealed that
extract acts on ZIKV entry by preventing the internalisation of virus particles into the host cells. Our data suggest that
-mediated ZIKV inhibition relates to virus particle inactivation. We suggest that
could be a promising natural source for the development of potential antivirals against medically important flaviviruses.