1. Anti-Hepatitis C Virus Activity of a Crude Extract from Longan (Dimocarpus longan Lour.) Leaves.
- Author
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Apriyanto DR, Aoki C, Hartati S, Hanafi M, Kardono LB, Arsianti A, Louisa M, Sudiro TM, Dewi BE, Sudarmono P, Soebandrio A, and Hotta H
- Subjects
- Cell Line, Tumor, Cyclosporine pharmacology, Drug Synergism, Drug Therapy, Combination, Hepacivirus physiology, Hepatocytes drug effects, Hepatocytes virology, Humans, Inhibitory Concentration 50, Oligopeptides pharmacology, Plant Extracts chemistry, Protease Inhibitors pharmacology, Virus Internalization drug effects, Antiviral Agents pharmacology, Hepacivirus drug effects, Plant Extracts pharmacology, Plant Leaves chemistry, Sapindaceae chemistry
- Abstract
Infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) results in hepatitis C, a disease characterized by chronic infection, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. Currently, the standard therapy is a combination of pegylated interferon-α plus ribavirin with NS3 protease inhibitors. Addition of NS3 protease inhibitors to the standard therapy improves response rates; however, use of NS3 protease inhibitors is also associated with significant adverse effects and an increase in the overall cost of treatment. Therefore, there is a need to develop safe and inexpensive drugs for the treatment of HCV infections. In this study, we examined the antiviral activity of a crude extract from Dimocarpus longan leaves against HCV (genotype 2a strain JFH1). The D. longan crude extract (DL-CE) exhibited anti-HCV activity with a 50% effective concentration (EC50) of 19.4 μg/ml without cytotoxicity. A time-of-addition study demonstrated that DL-CE has anti-HCV activity at both the entry and post-entry steps and markedly blocks the viral entry step through direct virucidal activity with marginal inhibition of virion assembly. Co-treatment of DL-CE with cyclosporine A, an immunosuppressant or telaprevir, an NS3 protease inhibitor, resulted in additive and synergistic antiviral effects, respectively. Our findings suggest that DL-CE may be useful as an add-on therapy candidate for treating HCV infections.
- Published
- 2016
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