Antiherpetic activity of the traditionally used complex essential oil Olbas.

Essential oils of medicinal plants are increasingly of interest as novel drugs for antiherpetic agents, since herpes simplex virus (HSV) might develop resistance to commonly used antiviral drugs. The antiviral effect of Olbas, a traditionally used complex essential oil, and of cajuput oil, a major constitutent of Olbas, against HSV type 1 was examined. The antiviral activity of these essential oils was tested in vitro on monkey kidney cells using a plaque reduction assay. The 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) of Olbas and cajuput oil for herpes simplex virus plaque formation was determined at 1.8 microg/ml and 7.5 microg/ml, respectively. At noncytotoxic concentrations of these oils, plaque formation was significantly reduced by 99% for Olbas and 66% for cajuput oil. The selectivity index of 150 for Olbas against herpes simplex virus was superior to a rather low selectivity index for cajuput oil. The mode of antiviral action of these essential oils was assessed by time-on-addition assays. Herpesvirus was significantly inhibited by pretreatment with Olbas essential oil prior to infection of cells. These results indicate that Olbas affected the virus before adsorption, but not after penetration into the host cell, thus Olbas exerted a direct antiviral effect on HSV. A clearly time-dependent antiviral activity for Olbas and cajuput oil could be demonstrated. Considering the lipophilic nature of the Olbas complex essential oil mixture, which enables it to penetrate the skin, and a high selectivity index, Olbas might be suitable for topical treatment of herpetic infections.

Pentacyclic triterpenes in birch bark extract inhibit early step of herpes simplex virus type 1 replication.

Antiviral agents frequently applied for treatment of herpesvirus infections include acyclovir and its derivatives. The antiviral effect of a triterpene extract of birch bark and its major pentacyclic triterpenes, i.e. betulin, lupeol and betulinic acid against acyclovir-sensitive and acyclovir-resistant HSV type 1 strains was examined. The cytotoxic effect of a phytochemically defined birch bark triterpene extract (TE) as well as different pentacyclic triterpenes was analyzed in cell culture, and revealed a moderate cytotoxicity on RC-37 cells. TE, betulin, lupeol and betulinic acid exhibited high levels of antiviral activity against HSV-1 in viral suspension tests with IC50 values ranging between 0.2 and 0.5 µg/ml. Infectivity of acyclovir-sensitive and clinical isolates of acyclovir-resistant HSV-1 strains was significantly reduced by all tested compounds and a direct concentration- and time-dependent antiherpetic activity could be demonstrated. In order to determine the mode of antiviral action, TE and the compounds were added at different times during the viral infection cycle. Addition of these drugs to uninfected cells prior to infection or to herpesvirus-infected cells during intracellular replication had low effect on virus multiplication. Minor virucidal activity of triterpenes was observed, however both TE and tested compounds exhibited high anti-herpetic activity when viruses were pretreated with these drugs prior to infection. Pentacyclic triterpenes inhibit acyclovir-sensitive and acyclovir-resistant clinical isolates of HSV-1 in the early phase of infection.