An in vitro assessment of antiviral activity for ethanol extract of Desmodium canadense against bovine herpesvirus type 1.

Herpesviruses (HV) are pathogens causing infections in humans and animals worldwide. Since it shares many common features with other HV, bovine HV type 1 (BoHV-1) was selected as a model to test the anti-herpesviral activity of medicinal plants.Fifteen plants were chosen in this study for their medical, antibacterial and antiviral proper-ties. The aim was to investigate ethanolic extracts from the selected medicinal plants for anti-BoHV-1 activity. The virucidal activities were evaluated by comparing the effect of noncy-totoxic concentrations of extracts on BoHV-1 strain 1640 replication in Madin-Darby bovine kidney (MDBK) cells. Virucidal activity was determined by means of virus titration after expo-sure to the extracts. The extract of Desmodium canadense was found to be the most effective virucide - the 50% tissue culture infective dose (TCID50) after exposure was 3.75 log10 and the virus reduction factor was ≥5.0±0.25 log10. The extract of D. canadense was therefore chosen for further studies. Virus yield reduction assays showed that D. canadense extract had time-depen-dent and dose-dependent effects. It effectively reduced virus titre from 8.33 log10 to 4.67 log10(p⟨0.01). The virucidal activity was also confirmed by real-time polymerase chain reaction (real-time PCR), where the number of threshold cycles (Ct) was inversely proportional to the virus titre in TCID50 The virucidal activity was also confirmed by real-time polymerase chain reaction (real-time PCR). This method showed that the number of threshold cycles (Ct) was inversely proportional to the virus titre (direct correlation with exposure time R=0.9321). The extract of D. canadense showed a high virus reduction capacity. In future, such active substances should be identified for the development of effective antivirals.

Capillary zone electrophoresis method for determination of bitter (alpha- and beta-) acids in hop (Humulus lupulus L.) cone extracts.

PURPOSE: Humulus lupulus (H. lupulus), more commonly known as hop, is a member of the Cannabaceae family with male and female flowers on separate plants. It is native in Europe including Lithuania, Asia and North America. Hop has been recognized as a medicinal plant for centuries, nevertheless different medicinal activities of hop are currently investigated and discovered. An important class of hop compounds is the hop acids, which are classified as alpha-acids and beta-acids. Different varieties of hops vary in amount and composition of hop acids. METHODS: Simple capillary zone electrophoresis method has been optimized and applied for the analysis of hop acids in hop cone extracts. RESULTS: With this method the analysis takes ca. 10 min. Repeatability for migration times and peak areas expressed as relative standard deviation were up to 0.21% and 5.96%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Comparative results of capillary zone electrophoretic analysis of extracts of different hop varieties and conductometric titration, as a standard method for determination of alpha-acids, are presented. Both methods provide consistent results, however capillary zone electrophoresis is capable of separating co- form of humulones from other forms.

Capillary electrophoretic analysis of flavonoids in single-styled hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna Jacq.) ethanolic extracts.

Flavonoids are an important group of natural compounds, which can prevent coronary heart disease and have antioxidant properties. Hawthorn is a well known and widely used medicinal plant due to its cardiotonic activity. Previous studies refer mostly to the HPLC analysis of the flavonoids: vitexin, quercetin, hyperoside, oligomeric procyanidins, which appear to be primarily responsible for the cardiac action of the plant. Aqueous ethanolic extracts of single-styled hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna Jacq., f.: Rosaceae Juss.) leaves and sprouts were analyzed by means of capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE). Influence of vegetation period on the extract qualitative composition and flavonoids quantities was evaluated. Sample preparation by extraction using different concentration of aqueous ethanol (40-96%, v/v) and the influence of extractant composition on the recovery of flavonoids are discussed in detail. The results obtained using CZE are compared to the results of spectrophotometric and HPLC analysis of the extracts. The effect of storage conditions of extracts (solar irradiation, temperature and duration) on degradation of flavonoids was investigated.