RESUMEN
Hypericum perforatum L., a plant used in Chinese herbal medicine, has been proven effective against many viral diseases. In the present study, the therapeutic efficacy of an extract of H. perforatum (HPE) against influenza A virus (IAV) was investigated in mice. Whether HPE would be a promising agent for influenza treatment was evaluated by measuring the protection rate, mean survival days, lung index, and viral titer, as well as the secretion of IL-6, interleukin-10 (IL-10), tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) in lung tissue and serum on days 3 and 5 post-infection. The results showed that HPE could reduce the lung index and viral titer of mice infected with IAV, decrease mortality, and prolong the mean survival time. HPE decreased the concentration of IL-6 and TNF-α in lung tissue and serum on day 5 post-infection. In contrast, HPE enhanced the lung and serum levels of IL-10 and IFN-γ on the days 3 and 5 post-infection. Our study indicates that HPE has significant therapeutic efficacy for mice infected with IAV. The possible reasons for these results were concluded to be pertaining to up-regulating the expression of IL-10 and IFN-γ, and down-regulating the secretion of IL-6 and TNF-α in lung and serum.
Asunto(s)
Antivirales/farmacología , Medicamentos Herbarios Chinos/farmacología , Hypericum , Virus de la Influenza A/patogenicidad , Pulmón/efectos de los fármacos , Infecciones por Orthomyxoviridae/tratamiento farmacológico , Animales , Antivirales/aislamiento & purificación , Modelos Animales de Enfermedad , Relación Dosis-Respuesta a Droga , Medicamentos Herbarios Chinos/aislamiento & purificación , Femenino , Hypericum/química , Mediadores de Inflamación/sangre , Interferón gamma/sangre , Interleucina-10/sangre , Interleucina-6/sangre , Pulmón/inmunología , Pulmón/virología , Masculino , Ratones , Ratones Endogámicos BALB C , Infecciones por Orthomyxoviridae/diagnóstico , Infecciones por Orthomyxoviridae/inmunología , Infecciones por Orthomyxoviridae/virología , Ribavirina/farmacología , Factores de Tiempo , Factor de Necrosis Tumoral alfa/sangre , Carga ViralRESUMEN
NAS preparation, a kind of Chinese herbal medicine found by the Yunnan Eco-agricultural Research Institute, has potential antiviral activity. In this paper, the inhibiting effect of NAS preparation on H9N2 subtype Avian influenza virus (AIV) was investigated in vivo. Chickens infected with H9N2 virus were treated with NAS preparation for 4 days. The virus was then detected by hemoagglutination (HA) test and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The results showed that no H9N2 virus could be detected at the 7th day when the chickens were treated with 0.2g/kg/d or 0.1g/kg/d of NAS preparation. However the virus could be detected in other chickens without NAS preparation treatment. This result suggested that NAS preparation may be a potential drug candidate to control infection of H9N2 subtype AIV in chickens.