ANTIVIRAL ACTION MECHANISM OF THE AQUEOUS EXTRACT FROM YERBA MATE -Ilex paraguariensis A. St.-Hil.- AGAINST DENGUE VIRUS SEROTYPE 2

LUQUE FEDERICO; PEÑA VALENTINA; CODEMO CAMILA AGOSTINA; PERALTA MARIANA ISABEL; SORIA ELIO ANDRÉS; SABINI MARÍA CAROLA

Tafí del Valle

Congreso; XXXIX Jornadas Cientificas; 2022

ASOCIACIÓN DE BIOLOGÍA DE TUCUMÁN

Ilex paraguariensis -yerba mate- stands out for its numerous medicinal properties. The antiviral capacity of the aqueous extract of I. paraguariensis against dengue virus serotype 2 (DENV-2) was previously demonstrated. The disease caused by the dengue virus (Flaviviridae) affects 390 million people each year worldwide. There are no effective antiviral drugs to treat this relevant disease. The objective of this work was to elucidate the target stages of action of the aqueous extract (AE) obtained from yerba mate. From leaves and sticks of commercial agroecologically produced yerba mate (Kalena, Argentina), the aqueous extract (AE) was obtained by extraction with water at 83ºC (1/10, p/v), left to stand for 1 h, then it was filtered and subjected to lyophilization. The dry extract was resuspended in buffered saline solution and filtered with Whattman Nº2 paper and sterilized with 0.22 µm filters. For the antiviral activity studies, AE was used at 300 µg/mL (non-cytotoxic concentration) and different treatments were carried out: 1. Adsorption and penetration stages, 2. After adsorption and penetration, 3. Cellular pre-treatment, and 4. Viral pre-treatment. All treatments were incubated at 37ºC for 7 days in a humid atmosphere and with CO2 (5%). Cells were then fixed with formalin (10%) and stained with crystal violet (1%). As a result, the following percentages of viral inhibition were obtained: Ads-Pen: 19.7±0.5%, Post Ads-Pen: 76.9±3.2, Pre-cell treatment: 8.8±4.9; Viral pre-treatment: 30±2.2. It can be concluded that AE exerted its antiviral action in the intracellular stages of DENV-2 virus replication.