Potent in vitro antiviral activity of Cistus incanus extract against HIV and Filoviruses targets viral envelope proteins.

ABSTRACT: Novel therapeutic options are urgently needed to improve global treatment of virus infections. Herbal products with confirmed clinical safety features are attractive starting material for the identification of new antiviral activities. Here we demonstrate that Cistus incanus (Ci) herbal products inhibit human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections in vitro. Ci extract inhibited clinical HIV-1 and HIV-2 isolates, and, importantly, a virus isolate with multiple drug resistances, confirming broad anti-HIV activity. Antiviral activity was highly selective for virus particles, preventing primary attachment of the virus to the cell surface and viral envelope proteins from binding to heparin. Bioassay-guided fractionation indicated that Ci extract contains numerous antiviral compounds and theref

SUBMITTER: Rebensburg S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4735868 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature