In vitro viral inactivation photosensitized by a vegetal extract

MUGAS L ; MARIONI J ; KONIGHEIM B; AGUILAR J ; CABRERA JL ; CONTIGIANI M; NÚÑEZ MONTOYA SC

Santiago

Encuentro; 25th INTER-AMERICAN PHOTOCHEMICAL SOCIETY MEETING; 2016

IAPS, Univer. Católica de Chile

Heterophyllaea pustulata Hook. f. (Rubiaceae) is a wild bush that grows in the Andean northwest of Argentina, where is popularly known as "cegadera" (blindness in Spanish). It has phototoxic properties that cause dermatitis and blindness in animals that ingested it and exposed to sunlight. From its chemical study, we found that 9, 10-anthraquinone (AQs) are the predominant metabolites. In complementary studies, we have reported that some of these isolated AQs exhibit photosensitizing properties by generation of superoxide anion radical or singlet molecular oxygen. In addition, we have demonstrated that these AQs show in vitro virucidal effect against Herpes Simplex virus Type 1 (HSV-1), which means an inactivation of viral particles before their entry into the host cells, and this inhibition was increased by light action (photostimulation). The aim of this work was to study the in vitro inactivation of HSV-1 once the virus entered into the host-cells, by the photosensitized action of an enriched-AQs extract obtained from roots of H. pustulata.