INHIBITION OF Herpes suis virus type 1 BY AQUEOUS EXTRACTS OF Achyrocline satureioides

SABINI C.; ESCOBAR F.M.; CARIDDI L.; CONTIGIANI M.; ZANON S.; SABINI L.

Jornada; XXVII Jornadas Científicas organizadas por la Sociedad de Biología de Tucumán; 2010

Herpes suis virus type 1 (HSV) is the etiological agent of Pseudorabies disease in pigs. It represents an important sanitary problem in Argentina. Up to now there is no Argentine vaccine adapted to control the disease, so an alternative would be medicinal herbs. Previous studies revealed strong inhibition of the Western Equine Encephalitis virus by A. satureioides. The aim of this study was to evaluate antiviral and virucidal activities of aqueous extracts of A. satureioides against HSV. Cold (CAE) and hot aqueous extracts (HAE) were prepared by sequential extraction with water at 4ºC and 70ºC for 48 h. Toxicity in Vero cells was determined by neutral red uptake (RN) and MTT reduction. Antiviral and virucidal activities were quantified by plaque reduction assay at different non cytotoxic concentrations (CAE: 0.2-0.8 mg/ml and HAE:0.1-0.4 mg/ml). Selectivity Index (SI) was calculated. CAE and HAE inhibited 80% and 96%, respectively, at maximum concentrations assayed. SI were 2.4 (RN) and 5.5 (MTT) for CAE, and 1.9 (RN) and 2.8 (MTT) for HAE. These values indicate that both extracts, particularly the hot one, have a selective action against HSV. Both extracts showed weak virucidal activity. Conclusion: The results allow us to consider the applicability of EAF and EAC as natural antiherpetic chemotherapic agents.